Breaking Point
by Magicinmyheart
Summary: Jace's past is riddled with misfortune, and after being tossed from foster home to foster home, he's grown to love no one but himself. Clary wants to help, but when Jace is so unwilling to let anyone in it's not the easiest thing to accomplish.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter1

The first thing Clary thought when she saw the orphaned older boy was that he was beautiful. Beautiful like nothing she'd ever seen before. Beautiful like a cloudless, warm, exciting summers day. His hair was a perfect blonde that shone in even the dullest of lights. His eyes were similarly colored and appeared to be molten gold. Everything about him seemed to be sculpted from the finest of stone, and although Clary was yet unable to tell for sure, she thought his underneath was just as tough and unbreakable.

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><p>Clary had always wanted a brother or sister, someone to play with and cherish, so when her mom and step-dad, who she loved like a father, told her they were going to be taking in a child from the foster care system, she was ecstatic.<p>

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Clary asked.

"We're not sure yet, but we should know soon," replied Luke, Clary's step-dad.

With a slight frown, Clary asked, "So does that mean you don't know the age either?"

"Yes darling, I'm afraid so," said her mother with a warm smile.

Clary was slightly upset about not being able to get that information, but she, with gleefully shining eyes, persisted, " When will they get here?"

Still smiling, but with an exasperated eye roll, Clary's mom says, "We're not sure of that either. That'll be one of the last things we find out."

With a disappointed sigh, Clary dejectedly dragged her feet down her hallway and into her bedroom. She flung herself down onto her sketch-laden bed, closed her eyes, and thought about what she wanted her new house-mate to be like.

First, Clary thought of a small sanguine-faced little girl with bright blue eyes that sparkled like an effervescent stream and plump lips just as red as her cheeks. She would have pink and blue ribbons tied like bows in her sun-blessed, frantically curly, silk-soft blonde hair.

Next, Clary thought of a cherub-like little boy just over the age of five. Clary could perfectly picture melted-emerald eyes and thick, dark chocolate hair. She could already hear his tinkling childish laugh mold seemingly flawlessly into her ears.

Clary opened her eyes and, after looking in the mirror across from her, realized she was smiling a toothy grin as bright as the little girl's hair. This was exactly what she always wanted, it was literally a dream, a wish on a star, come true. The only other things Clary had ever wished for was to be beautiful like her mom and to find someone who would love her as much as Luke loved her mom. Her mom was willowy and stunning, she had beautiful red locks that Clary would switch in a heartbeat for her bright orange hair. She had long, lean, muscular legs and delicate yet somehow immeasurably strong features. Clary, however, had overly skinny, weak, chicken legs, in fact that's how her whole body was, and features that just didn't go together quiet as well as her mothers.

It was no wonder Luke loved her mother, when she had everything going for her.

Besides her model-like good looks, she was a magnificently gifted artist, who's works greatly out shown Clary's own feeble attempts. Not to mention her witty sense of humor, generosity, and overall pleasing personality.

However, since Clary had only needle thin slivers of her mother's flawless qualities, neither of her wishes were readily available and as unlikely to come true as pigs actually flying. Clary convinced herself to forget about those things and think once again about her families soon to be new guest.

She actually didn't care what the child looked like, but that didn't stop her from dreaming about the cutest kids she could imagine. She realized that no matter what they looked like, she would be immeasurably happy.

Clary was broken out of her reverie when she heard the shrill call of the telephone. Even though it had awaken her from her glorious trance, she blessed it because she knew it meant information on the foster child.

She desperately slipped and slid down the hallway as fast as could and into the living room where her parents sat, her mother on the phone. Luke was holding her mother's hand, and suddenly she was reminded of her unachievable wishes. She blinked back tears and focused on listening to her mom's conversation.

"Oh yes that would be wonderful."

'_What would be wonderful?' _Clary thought.

"Well I'm sure we'll be just fine. We could be just what he needs."

It was a he! A boy! Something was wrong though, Clary noticed.

"Yes, that's right."

What was right?

"Fantastic! Thank you very much!"

Silence.

"Alright goodbye."

More silence.

Finally, Clary couldn't hold it in and she asked, "What did they say?"

Her eyes were wide with anticipation and when she looked over at Luke she saw her expression mirrored.

"Well, we're taking in a boy. They said he was a bit hard to handle and uncooperative, but I told him we'd try to help him. I forgot to ask how old he is, but we'll find out in about two hours."

"Why two hours?" inquired Luke.

Clary's mom just evilly smirked and glided into the kitchen.

"Jocelyn Fairchild tell us what you know," Luke jokingly scolded.

"I do believe I have the right to remain silent," she joked back.

Clary just rolled her eyes as their banter continued on. She knew her mother would eventually spill the beans. She could tell because her eyes danced with excited flickers of light and her mother was no good at keeping these kinds of secrets. Who her real father was, was a different story, though. Clary often asked that question but her mom kept her mouth sealed tighter than she kept her hidden jar of chocolates locked.

When Luke started tickling her mom to get her to spill the beans, Clary stepped in and told her mom just to give it up and tell them.

Her mom managed to get out a sentence in between giggles, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you!"

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><p><strong>This is my first Mortal Instruments story so I'm open to tips! I used to have a Maximum Ride story but I never finished it and eventually deleted it because I felt it wasn't really going anywhere, and, honestly, i didn't enjoy writing it, but this story has actually been really fun to write! I hope you guys like it! xx<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Clary felt herself involuntarily shift forward on the chair on which she was perched. Luke stopped his incessant tickling and stared her down. The two of them waited.

"He's going to be here in two hours," she said, "Well actually more like an hour and a half now."

Clary immediately threw herself off the chair and screamed, "What? Look at the house! It's a mess! How are we going to have it clean by the time he gets here?"

She was panicking and she knew she was only making a bigger mess, but she desperately wanted to impress the little boy.

Luke snatched her up and told her to calm down, they'd get it clean enough.

It didn't stop Clary's inner turmoil, but she slowed down on the outside. Luke always knew just what to do to cheer her up, calm her down, anything. He really was like her father and she loved him like he was.

* * *

><p>An hour and a half had passed and the house was, as Luke had said, sufficiently cleaned. Now, four anxious people (Clary had called her best friend Simon, filled him in, and he came over as quickly as he could) sat outside anxiously awaiting the arrival the boy.<p>

Clary and Simon were playing tic-tac-toe on Simon's arms, Luke was tapping out a beat on Jocelyn's back, and Jocelyn was constantly checking her paint-splattered watch. Everything was silent except for the scratch of the pen, the knocking of fingers against a body, and the tick of clock.

Suddenly, the faint sound of a car engine could be heard some way in the distance, and those some four anxious people shot their heads up and stared at the road.  
>Within a few seconds, an old black '65 Mustang pulled up in front of them. Out of the drivers seat came a woman of about 35.<p>

Clary's mom immediately jumped up, shook hands with the woman, and said,

"You must be Madeleine. The one I was talking to on the phone right?"

"That's right, I'm Madeleine Bellefleur," the woman, Madeleine, said with a polite smile.

Then, as they all looked around for the boy, Simon asked, "Umm, I don't mean to be rude, but I think you may have forgotten something when you left."

With a laugh, Madeleine shook her head and said, "No, no, he's just asleep in the backseat. He hates being vulnerable, but he put up a huge fight when we told him we were moving him again. He thinks he should just be able to live on his own, but since he's underage we just can't do that."

At that point Clary became confused, after all why would a little boy even think of living on his own? No sooner had she wondered that when the boy finally stepped out of the car.

The first thing Clary thought when she saw the orphaned older boy was that he was beautiful. Beautiful like nothing she'd ever seen before. Beautiful like a cloudless, warm, exciting summers day. His hair was a perfect blonde that shone in even the dullest of lights. His eyes were similarly colored and appeared to be molten gold. Everything about him seemed to be sculpted from the finest of stone, and although Clary was yet unable to tell for sure, she thought his underneath was just as tough and unbreakable.

Then she thought that he was no "little" boy. Not even close. He was tall, at least 10 inches taller than Clary, and he had broad shoulders, and muscular limbs. She could tell, even with his shirt on, that his stomach was toned and that his hips were narrow.

With a scowl, he said in masculine voice, "I wasn't asleep."

Madeleine just sent them a look that said, 'See I told you.'

Clary's mom was the first to recover from the shock of seeing a teenager step out of the car and said, "Hi, my name's Jocelyn. This," she said pointing to Clary and the others in turn, "is Clary, Luke, and Simon."

He looked at all of them as she spoke, and Clary thought self-consciously that his hard gaze lingered on her for just a bit longer than the others. She quickly looked herself up and down to check the nothing was wrong and felt her face as well.

After Jocelyn spoke, everything was silent once again.

Simon, once again, took the initiative and asked, somewhat more rude than he usually was, "Are you gonna tell us _your_name?"

He appeared to think about it for a minute, then smirked and said, "No, I don't think so."

Clary realized what Madeleine was talking about when she told her mom on the phone that he was difficult. It seemed to frustrate Simon, but then Clary grabbed his hand and squeezed it once, tightly. She saw the boy's eyes follow her movement and thought she might have seen something other than anger in his eyes, maybe longing, maybe sadness. Clary felt bad for him when she realized he probably never got to experience simple affections like holding hands.

It also appeared to anger Madeleine, and she said, "Come on now Jace, you should be grateful to these people for taking you in."

'_Jace, that's a pretty name_,' Clary thought.

Jace simply threw a bored expression over to her and made no acknowledgement to her telling them his name.

"Well, Jace," said Luke, "we're glad to have you, do you want to see the house?"

Jace looked over to Luke and said, "I can see the house right now."

Luke, instead of getting frustrated like everyone else, simply chuckled.

Madeleine, however spoke up again, "Jace, give them a chance, just this one time give someone a chance."

Jace narrowed his eyes as he turned to her once again, "If you're asking me to love these people, you must realize that I've set a ridiculously high standard for the people I love."

"Oh and how high is this standard?" asked Jocelyn.

"Only perfect people. That, unfortunately, means I can only love myself." Jace said with smile like a poison rose.

Clary almost wished they had never signed up, but she knew, that more of that vulnerability she saw before was there, and if she could just find it, Jace would be who he really was.

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><p><strong>I didn't remember if the books ever said how old Madeleine was, so I took a guess. Sorry if it's wrong :) xx<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Madeleine had just left, her car still visible and loud, when Jace walked straight into the house and plopped himself down on the couch.

"Glad to see your making yourself feel at home," sarcastically muttered Simon.

Jace, however, heard him and replied back, "Unfortunately, this is my home. However when Madeleine was telling me about the 'wonderful new family' I would be living with, she failed to mention that there was a teenage boy. Either this family hates you and they are so embarrassed by you that they didn't tell the foster care system about your existence, or, you don't really live here and you belong to some other, poor family that has to live with you, in which case,this isn't your house either. So, I suggest you be quiet."

That was just a bit much for Clary, and she opened her mouth to defend Simon, to say he might as well live at her house because he's there so often when Jace noticed her getting ready to speak and in turn spoke again, "Aww well isn't that cute. The little girlfriend defending her little boyfriend. Though, honestly, I don't see why you would want to date him, he's as ugly as a rat, maybe even more so. You could do much better."

Clary blushed at his words, not just because he had suggested that there was more than just a friendship between herself and Simon, but because he had inadvertently called her pretty.

She also quickly said, "He's not my boyfriend."

And it wasn't until she looked to Simon and saw the hurt expression on his face that she realized she had also inadvertently said she could do better than him.

She tried to say something, but he just walked away, and when she pulled on his sleeve he just pulled away. He was out the door before she even had a chance.

"Well that was quiet interesting," Jace said with his signature smirk.

"Will you SHUT UP! This is all _your_ fault," Clary shouted furiously at him.

Then, with a malicious glint in his eyes, he said, "Don't you know, little girl, it's my job to destroy everything around me."

Clary only looked at him, first angrily, then confused. Once again, she could see sadness in his eyes, and she realized two things. One, Jace, though putting on a joking facade, actually meant what he said, though he probably wouldn't admit it. He probably honestly believed he ruined everything, even when he did it accidentally. Two, she really didn't know anything about him, and there were clearly things that had happened that led him to be how he was. So, she just turned and stormed away to her room.

* * *

><p>"Clary, Simon, Jace! Dinner!" Clary heard her mother call. She didn't yet know about the incident from earlier.<p>

"Coming!" Clary yelled back.

No answer from Jace.

She got up checked to make sure her face didn't show any signs of her previously shed tears (She had tried to call Simon, 10 times, but he didn't pick up, and as much as she wanted to blame Jace for it all, he hadn't made her say what she said, only the situation). Her face was clear, so she walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Luke and her mom were busy putting the finishing touches on whatever it was they were making and kept their heads down as she walked in.

"What's for dinner?" Clary asked.

"Lasagna," her mom said, head still facing the countertop.

"Smells good," she said with a sniff and a slight moan of appreciation.

Then, Jocelyn looked up and looked around the room before asking, "Where's Simon and Jace?"

Clary ignored the question about Jace and said dejectedly, "Simon went home."

Though Clary realized her mom saw something more in her answer, she moved on and once again asked about Jace.

"I don't know, Mom. He's not my responsibility," she snapped back.

"There's no reason you need to talk to me like that! I just thought that maybe since your so close in age you might get along well, but i can see you haven't even made an effort!" Clary's mom shouted back.

Clary sighed in acknowledgment. She hadn't even tried to get to know him, even after she told herself she would. But it wasn't her fault he was such a jerk! Then, she thought about the person she knew was inside, the one she desperately wanted to find.

"I don't know where he is," she responded quietly.

"'He' is right here," Jace said as he walked into the kitchen, "That's with a capital 'h' by the way."

Luke ignored it and said, "Good now we can start eating."

"Don't you think you should say a prayer? After all there is a god in your presence," Jace said with a smirk, clearly talking about himself.

"Why don't you do that for us, Jace?" suggested Jocelyn. Clary thought maybe her mom was doing it to give Jace a feeling of belonging, whether within their family, or with God, Clary didn't know, but she thought it was a pretty good idea. She should've known, though, that Jace didn't even want to belong.

"It would be ridiculous to pray to myself. I don't want to seem conceited."

Clary just snorted and started eating her dinner. She wasn't in the mood for Jace right now. She could start trying to befriend him later.

Jace looked over at her, raised an eyebrow, and smirked. It seemed to Clary that that was all he could do. She realized she had never seen him smile a real smile, one of happiness. She made it her goal to see one. Not only because, even though she would never say it out loud, it was surely beautiful, but also, mostly, she just wanted Jace to feel happy again, because it seemed to Clary that he didn't even remember what it felt like. She wondered silently to herself if he ever had.

* * *

><p><strong>I'd like your opinions on the characterization of everyone. I'm trying to stay away from anything OOC, though I'm sure it will happen. Let me know what you think! Oh, also I put up these first three chapters pretty quickly so that there would be more to read, and you guys could get a better idea of the story. The rest of the updates won't be coming as quickly. xx<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was 20 minutes into dinner and all attempts at conversation had either been ignored, sarcastically dissolved into awkward silence, or otherwise futile. Jace seemed to take every question, every piece of information, swallow it up, and then regurgitate it into an annoying mess. Clary, and everyone else, was getting pretty annoyed, but Jocelyn tried asking one more question.

"What do you like to do, Jace?"

"Oh you know, break things, get in fights, normal kid things."

Clary had finally had enough, she was tired of him playing the tough guy with no feelings.

"Will you stop it, Jace! Just get over yourself! Is there a reason why you're so painfully adverse to any friendly human relationship? Can't you just try to get along with us? We've been trying all day and all you've given us it a bunch a crap!"

Jace looked over to her.

"You don't know me and I don't know you. As far as I can see, even if you did know me, you wouldn't understand me, so why don't you just leave me alone! I don't want to be here any more than you want me to!"

Clary was sad now, simply sad. She thought of how badly she had wanted this earlier, how she had dreamed of it, and now it was just garbage on the street. She wanted that little girl with the curly hair, or the little boy with the green eyes, not someone older than her (she had figured out earlier that he was 17, two years older than her, though she would be 16 soon) who was dead-set against any type of bond. But she knew, that once she got past his cold exterior, she would find a friend, and that was enough to keep her going.

She wanted to figure Jace out, and she was still going to try, but it was going to be a lot harder than she thought. What he had just said made her think even more that some bad things had happened in his past.

Then, Clary said, more quietly this time, "Can't you just let me try? It doesn't even have to be me, just someone Jace, just try to trust someone."

"Oh, but, little girl, don't you see? I have tried and even succeeded, and then, BAM there goes everything. Everytime. Eventually I gave up. It gets tiring, losing everything over and over."

Clary felt like she was finally getting closer to finding the answer to the complicated problem that was Jace.

No longer had she thought that, when Jace said, "And if you really want me to trust you stop acting like a freaking detective, or therapist, or something. Been there, done that, and I will never be doing it again. Besides, I have a feeling you're actually much more interesting."

God, how did he do that? With one sentence, one word, one he probably didn't even mean, he managed to flush her cheeks hotter than a frying pan.

However, Clary didn't know what to say, what he said was actually true. She had been treating him like a case to crack, a problem to fix, and though that was what she was trying, she wanted him to like her, because even though he'd been a jerk to her all day, she already liked him.

She didn't realize she'd been staring at him until he said, "Look, I know I'm devilishly handsome and all, but the enraptured stare is a bit much, so I think I'll just go."

Then, Luke interrupted. Clary had completely forgotten about her parents. He said gently, "Jace we don't know about your past because you won't tell us. We could call up Madeleine and ask her, but we want you to do it on your own. Clary's just trying to help."

"I don't need your condescending words. I don't need anybody or anything. All I do is destroy them anyway."

There it was again, the destroying things. '_What could have happened that made him think that?' _Clary wondered.

"Well now that we've had that touching, straight-out-of-the-movies moment, I'm going to go get some get some beauty sleep. Not that I really need it," Jace said.

Jace swung out of the kitchen and when he was gone, the three left sat in silence. Finally, Clary's mom sighed and started cleaning up from dinner.

* * *

><p>"Hey, look on the bright side! At least it beats out that dinner where I came over to your house to escape my parents after they caught me kissing that guy as the worst dinner ever. You know, the one they had already told me I couldn't date. What was his name? Meliorn? Yeah, that sounds right."<p>

Clary just smiled dimly and rolled her eyes. That had been, before the one just a few minutes earlier, the worst dinner ever. Isabelle had climbed out her bedroom window, made her way over to Clary's house, told Clary what was going on, but made her promise not to tell Luke and her mom. Isabelle's parents had found her missing, figured she had come to Clary's house and marched right over. They had yelled and screamed, asking how they could just let their grounded daughter stay at their house. It wasn't until they Clary's parents could explain that they hadn't known (at which point they shot death glares at the two girls trying to look invisible in the corner), that they calmed down and took Isabelle home, with two weeks added to her previous one week. Clary had also been grounded, but only for a week.

That was just one of the good (bad?) memories Clary had with Isabelle. Other than Simon, Isabelle was Clary's best friend, and since Simon currently wouldn't pick up his phone, Isabelle was who she called.

"Anyway," Isabelle went on, "tell me more about him, is he hot?"

Now Clary full-out smirked, "Is that all you ever think about Izzy?"

"No, just most of the time. I can be serious though!" Isabelle said, getting just a bit defensive at the end.

"Oh yeah," Clary taunted, glad to be able to joke after such a horrible day, "prove it."

"I think you need to forget about asking Jace about his past and his current self and let him tell you when he's ready. However you should still try to be friends with him, I think he needs one. And it would be so cute if you two ended up together!" Isabelle said, and Clary could perfectly imagine her friends heart eyes as she thought about it. Clary was more focused on the advice though.

"That would never happen, Iz. A guy like him would never date a girl like me."

"So does that mean he is hot?"

"Why don't you just come over tomorrow and see for yourself," Clary suggested.

"Ooo okay! Well I'll see ya tomorrow! Love ya! Bye!"

"Bye Iz," Clary said with a smile.

Talking with Isabelle had made her feel much better. Plus, the advice she had given Clary was actually pretty good. Clary figured she ought to stop being surprised about that, considering how many times Isabelle's wise words had helped her a time or two. However there were also those times where her advice was the complete opposite of good and left you in more of a sticky situation than before. Isabelle was all extremes.

Clary did keep thinking about what she said, though. In fact, Clary decided she was going to do something about right then.

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><p><strong>So, I introduced Isabelle! Don't worry, Clary will be going to school soon and then the rest of the characters will be introduced! Also, this has been my longest chapter so far! yay! xx<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Clary quickly slipped on a pair of socks so that her steps would be quieter against the house's hardwood flooring. She made her way silently, except for when she stubbed her toe on the corner of her door, to the guest bedroom where Jace was sleeping.

When she got to the room, she unsurprisingly, saw that the door was closed. At first Clary was uncertain about opening the door, but when she remembered she would be waking Jace up anyway, she quickly shoved it open.

Clary was surprised to see that Jace was already awake and sitting in up in bed when she walked in. She was also surprised that he hadn't noticed her open the door. Jace was bathed in the bright light of his bedside lamp, and although it was man-made, the light made his hair look shockingly like a halo, and she was once again shocked by his beauty. She was also shocked by the irony of such an imperfect boy looking like an angel. She also noticed how he looked distinctly melancholy, with a possible glint of tears in his eyes.

He was looking at a flat, but jagged-edged piece of a reflective material. A piece of a mirror? Clary assumed so, but why would he have a piece of mirror? She quickly looked over to the mirror hanging on the wall adjacent to where Jace was sitting in bed. It was she caught Jace looking straight at her in the reflection.

"I didn't break anything, if that's what you're thinking," Jace said quietly, his voice a whisper. For once there was no malice or sarcasm, simply Jace. It made her realize that he actually had a nice voice.

She wanted Jace to trust her, so she told him the truth, "Yeah, I was thinking that."

Her voice was equally quiet.

He kept his voice low and said, "You know I didn't mean to be so harsh earlier. I meant what I said, though."

"I know," Clary said with a gentle smile.

And then, Clary saw a real Jace smile, and it was so breathtaking that for a second it literally did take her breath away, and she had to remind herself to breathe.

Jace noticed and asked, "Are you okay?"

Clary nodded. Apparently, even though Jace was arrogant, when he was being genuine, he was oblivious to how beautiful he was.

"Um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for earlier, too, but I really would like to get to know you," Clary told him.

Jace stared at her for a while until her cheeks reddened and she turned away.

"Looks like you haven't done much settling in yet," Clary observed aloud.

"I never do. Settling's a bad idea when you're always moving."

Just then, Clary understood him a bit more.

"Oh, um, yeah."

Jace laughed, and once again, just like his smile, it was simply Jace.

"Don't be so nervous. Come on, sit with me."

Clary was so stunned by his drastic change in personality that she stood still for just a moment too long.

"Come on now, you're hurting my feelings."

And although Jace meant it jokingly, Clary could see the truth behind it. Maybe he was used to not being trusted. Except it wasn't that Clary didn't trust him. She wanted to tell him this, but instead she just moved to the bed and sat down, legs crossed, right in front of Jace.

"Do you wanna play a game?" Jace asked.

Clary was surprised by his suggestion, she hadn't pegged him as a game-player. Though, she supposed, a lot of things about Jace had surprised her in the last 10 minutes.

"Um, what kind of game?" she asked while simultaneously cursing herself for saying 'um' so many times.

"How about we write both write down, on seperate sheets of paper, questions we want to know about the other. Has to be twenty. Then, the other person will choose a number, obviously between one and twenty. That person then has to answer the corresponding question on the other person's paper completely truthfully."

Clary squinted her eyes and dazedly said, "But earlier you were talking about how-"

And Jace cut her off, "I trust you Clary."

"But earlier you said-"

Cut off again. "Clary, I trust you."

Why was he being so confusing? Clary opened her mouth to speak again when Jace once again interrupted her, "I never didn't trust you Clary. I trusted you from the beginning. It was more so the others."

"You can trust them," Clary said, "Honestly, you can."

Jace grinned and said, "We'll just have to see about that."

Clary was then about to open her mouth again to ask a question when Jace spoke over her, _again_, "Ah ah ah. Write your questions down on the paper."

So, Clary grabbed a piece of pad a paper and a pen and wrote. She had a lot of questions for Jace. More than twenty, that was for sure. They just kept coming and coming. Her pen never stopped, never seemed to lift off the paper. She noticed, that Jace's didn't either. Was he really that curious about her, she wondered.

When they were both finished, pens resting as tiredly as pens could be on the bed, their hands even more so, they looked at each other. Clary hadn't been able to stop herself at twenty questions, even though she knew they wouldn't make a difference, seeing as they would never be picked, but her hand wouldn't stop.

When she snuck a quick glance at Jace's paper she realized that neither had he. So, he really was that curious. Unless they were meaningless questions, but Clary had the feeling that they weren't. At least she hoped they weren't. Clary was really looking forward to getting to know each other. Something about Jace was so compelling. Sure, Jace was just about the most frustrating person Clary had ever met, but he was so entrancing.

They were looking straight into each others eyes, already asking silent questions. Finally the silence was broken. It almost made Clary sad, it had been a long time since a silence had been so meaningful, so comfortable, yet so wonderfully confusing.

"You pick a number first," said Jace his voice still hushed.

Clary nodded and chose her number.

* * *

><p><strong>I didn't really like this chapter... anyway, here it is! review xx<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I choose... sixteen," Clary said to Jace.

"Sixteen?" Jace asked Clary.

She nodded, and then, as Jace searched his paper for the chosen number, she gulped. She wasn't good at talking about herself, but if she wanted Jace to be truthful, then she was going to have to reciprocate the honesty.

"Okay, my first question for you, or the sixteenth, depending on how you look at it, is-"

And now it was Clary who was interrupting, "What if I don't want to answer it. What will happen?"

Clary knew Jace was smart and she knew that he would know that she was asking if he would still answer the questions.

"I don't think that's a question that needs answering," said Jace.

And he was right, the question didn't need answering, if she wanted him to trust her, she would have to trust him. She already knew that.

"Okay. Fine. Ask the question."

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Clary couldn't speak for a second. She was stunned, that was the question? Such a pathetic question, one that nearly caused her to get up and walk straight out the door because it meant Jace really didn't care and everything had been a joke. She should have known though. Why would he trust her, want to get to know her? She was nothing special, and even if she was, Jace didn't want to get to know anyone.

And then Clary was furious, at herself for being so stupid, and at Jace for being who everyone else thought he was and the exact opposite of who she thought he was.

And she could feel her mouth curling into something resembling a dog's when it snarls. She could see Jace smiling that evil smile of his, that smile that tempted Clary to punch him straight in the gut, and in the nose, and every place she possibly could because it made him seem like a demon, not an angel.

Then, she got up, took her paper (she couldn't let Jace see that she really cared, even though he already knew), and ran out of the room and straight to the bathroom. As soon as she shut the door she ripped up the question paper into the smallest pieces manageable and flushed the deplorable pieces down the toilet. She didn't care that it was probably bad, she just wanted to make sure she wouldn't ever have to see one piece ever again. _'Besides,'_ she thought, _it's pretty close to toilet paper.'_

When the deed was done, she took a long, relaxing shower, even though it had to be at least one in the morning. She wanted it to wash away her pain, and memories of the whole night.

But as the shower scrubbed at her problems, they became raw from to much attention and worrying, and she began to cry. And the tears she shed weren't just little ones, they were rapid, racking sobs that ran throughout her entire body. She hadn't cried like that for a very long time, and that might just have been why she lost control. Why she just couldn't stop the rivers flowing down her heated cheeks. Why she eventually decided to sit down on the edge of her shower in fear of falling.

She was crying for so many things. Not only because of what had happened with Jace. She was crying because Luke was a great father, but he wasn't hers. Crying because she would never know her real dad, because something was so wrong with him that her mother wouldn't even tell her his name, or what he looked like, and all pictures of him were long gone. She was crying because Simon was mad at her and Simon was never mad at her. She was crying because her foster sibling hadn't been anything liked what she'd imagined.

But mostly, she was sitting there breaking down, for Jace. Not because of him, but _for _him. Because she knew that something awful had happened to him, something so horrendous, something she couldn't even imagine, and that Jace would never let himself break down. That's what his past had done to him, left him so hardened that he couldn't even cry, show tenderness, because he linked it to weakness.

Clary didn't know how long she sat there, pooling in a salty mixture of tears and shower water, but when she got out, wrapped a warm, fluffy towel around herself, and walked over to the mirror, she was wrinklier than the face of Simon's great-grandmother, her nose was redder and more swollen that a tomato, and even the water running over her face couldn't hide the puffiness in her eyes.

Clary might have drained her eyes of all their tears, but her mind was far from drained of the worries she felt. They were still felt like they were pressing up against her eyes, the back of her skull, the sides. For a second Clary had the thought that if she were to sneeze, or cough, or throw up, all that would come out was a stream of thought. Overall, Clary determined, she had one killer headache.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes and down her face, applying pressure, and as her the tips of her fingers disappeared, white marks were left in the otherwise red skin. She then put her pajamas back on and walked, not caring how quiet she was, back to her bedroom.

When she arrived, she saw that her clock said 2:43. If it really had been one when she got in the shower, she had spent over an hour and a half in there. She sighed and dried her hair off with a towel before putting it in the hamper that sat in the corner of her room. Normally, she would take it straight to the laundry room, but she was suddenly overwhelmed with a desperate need to close her eyes. Not only was it almost three in the morning, but crying had really tired her out.

When Clary dragged her feet over to her bed, she saw a piece of paper lying on her pillow. On it was a list of questions, and at first she wondered how it could be there when she clearly remembered violently ripping it up and flushing it down the toilet, but then, she saw that she didn't recognize the handwriting, it was neater than hers, and she figured out that it must have been Jace's.

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><p><strong>Here you go guys! Just wanted to say thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, etc.! It makes me so happy when I see those things :) AND also a big thanks to my sister who has been trying her best to make sure my story makes sense, has no spelling mistakes, and what not! She's just awesome like that :D Enjoy! xx<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At first, Clary was mad at Jace for even coming into her room after he had purposely done what he had, but then she was mad because he had the infuriating nerve to leave the very paper in which he had officially ruined her night _right_where he knew she would never miss it.

She couldn't even look at, she just looked at the pillow beneath it. Then, her eyes started to water again and she picked it up and started to walk to the trash can. However, just as she was going to toss it, the number 16 caught her attention. She didn't want to look at it, but she felt like her eyes were magnetic and so was that number, and they were drawn together. When she saw what it said, her breath caught in her throat.

_16. If you could change anything about your life, what would it be?_

Clary didn't know if this was his original list, or if he had written it after she left, and she didn't care, because what it meant to her was that Jace really did care, and that for some reason earlier that night, he had chickened out. Giving her this paper also meant that he was showing that other side of himself that Clary had only ever caught glimpses of.

Quickly Clary looked over the other questions. All forty-two of them. Each one just as meaningful as the last.

_3. Where did you first do something you were so scared of, and what was it?_

_12. How old were you when you first realized that life wasn't just a game?_

_18. What is the most pain you've ever been in?_

_25. Have you ever had something happen to you that you never would have dreamed of?_

_32. What is the most important thing you've ever lost?_

_38. What is your biggest regret?_

_40. How much would you give if it meant saving the ones you loved?_

Those were just a few of the questions Jace had written down on the paper. They were what she thought they would be the kind of questions she asked wrote down on her paper. Clary didn't remember exactly what she wrote down on her paper, but she tried her best to make a perfect replica of it. She decided that when Jace was out of his room tomorrow, she would sneak in and leave hers just as she had left his.

Clary did notice, though, that all of Jace's questions were about sad, depressing supposed, based on what she already knew about him, it really didn't seem that odd.

Some of her questions were...

_4. What's your best childhood memory?_

_10. Who was the first person you ever loved? Hated?_

_11. Why are you so against loving people?_

_17. What happened to your parents?_

_23. Do you ever wish you could be someone else?_

_35. As of right now, what is the thing that makes you most happy?_

_39. Could you ever imagine a world without emotion?_

Clary's questions were more of a mix, leaning more towards the happy side. When she had originally written the questions, she hadn't wanted to make Jace too upset, so she had tried to make them cheery, but she she couldn't help herself from straying away from that path every once in a while.

She looked over Jace's page one more time, and then she saw on the very last line, in pencil instead of blue pen like the rest of the questions, a group of words labeled 41.

_41. Will you ever forgive me?_

The fact that it was written with a different writing utensil clued Clary into the fact that it was his original list and that he had added his last question after she left.

Then, on the very last line on the back of the page, Clary wrote...

you're forgiven.

And then, Clary was finally able to go to sleep.

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><p>When Clary woke up the next morning, the first thing she saw was Jace's list. It made her smile so much her eyes squinted up. Then, she looked at her clock and saw that it wasn't actually morning, it was 3:47 in the afternoon. Clary blinked in surprise, but she supposed it really shouldn't have been a surprise considering the whole crazy ordeal of the previous night.<p>

She quickly sat up in bed, flung her covers off, walked to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and journeyed to the living room. As she arrived, her parents looked up at her and then stood up and rushed over to her.

"Are you okay Clary? You're usually not one to sleep in so late," asked her mother worriedly, as she felt Clary's forehead and the underneath of her chin for a temperature. When she didn't feel one she took a step back and waited for Clary to answer. Meanwhile, Luke was just standing there looking at her intently, she supposed for any signs of illness.

Clary really didn't feel like explaining, so she just said, "I'm fine guys. Don't worry yesterday just tired me out." It was the truth, though.

Her parents' eyes softened in understanding, and they simultaneously moved to the kitchen. Clary assumed it was to make her something to eat, and when her mom took out a midnight blue plate and Luke grabbed a cartoon of juice, she thought to herself, '_This is why I love them.'_

"I'm making you a cucumber sandwich, is that okay?" Clary heard her mom ask.

Clary smiled and felt her stomach growl in response. Her mom noticed and quickly set to work. Luke then walked over to her and set a tall glassful of deliciously cold orange juice in front of her.

"Here you go, Honey," he said.

"Thanks, Luke," she said with a grateful smile.

He smiled right back and said, "No problem, Sweetie."

Then Clary looked around and noticed Jace was in none of the rooms visible to her.

"Where's Jace?"

Her mom didn't look up from her sandwich making as she said, "He went out for a walk."

Clary widened her eyes at her mom and shaped her face so as if to say, 'Are you crazy?'

Her mom, apparently expecting a similar reaction said, "We want him to trust us, so we let him out. Besides it wouldn't be fair to keep him locked up. This house isn't a cage."

Clary sighed, half in annoyance, half in reluctant agreement because she had often had similar thoughts. In fact she often did.

"Well when did he leave?"

This time it was Luke that answered, "About 10 minutes before you got up."

Now Clary let out a dejected sigh. Since he had only recently left Clary figured he wouldn't be back for a while.

Luke gave her a slightly amused look, then asked, "Why so interested?"

Clary didn't know how too respond without telling the whole story so she just shrugged.

Then her mom brought her the plate with the cucumber sandwich. It made a clink as she set it down.

She quickly shoved it in her mouth and listened as her mom told her that Isabelle had stopped by earlier, they had introduced her to Jace, and that Isabelle wanted her to call as soon as she woke up.

Clary nodded in understanding and went to her room to call Isabelle, but then, she saw her set of questions and realized that it would be the perfect oppurtunity to leave it for him.. So, she vowed to call Isabelle as soon as she was done then grabbed the paper and set off down the hall.

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><p><strong>Here you go! hope you guys like it! xx<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**This author's note wasn't originally here, but I thought it was very important I add it. I just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who's read the story, but especially the following people...**

**4evrJace11**

**XxClace4evrxX**

**Reni Readiris **

**badassguardiangrl**

**3579JM**

**dramaqueen995**

**lilianneherondale**

**kiwichick11**

**SamtheSilentWriter**

**coco22201**

**kew12**

**Bumb1e73**

**mortalfan73**

**CrimsonAngels**

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**gabeissmexy**

**blali**

**for adding my story to their Story Alerts, adding my story to their favorite stories, adding me to their favorite authors, adding me to their Author Alerts, reviewing, or a combination of those. It really means a lot you guys! Thanks bunches! 3 xx**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

Clary was back in her room. She had just finished leaving the paper in Jace's room. She had set it on his pillow, as close to the middle as she could. She hoped it was the right thing to do, that it wouldn't somehow upset Jace. She had already figured out within less than a day of knowing him that Jace was unpredictable.

Now she was calling Isabelle. Clary really wanted to call Simon again, but since the next day was Monday, she knew she would see him at school and decided to give him a little space. If she was being honest, though, she thought he was over-reacting a bit.

Then, Isabelle picked up the phone.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Clary! How could you not tell me? Jace is like the freaking best looking guy I've ever seen! And trust me, I've seen a lot!"

Clary laughed at her friend, it was true, Isabelle was known for seeing a lot of people, and not for very long. However, despite what others might think, Isabelle was actually an awesome person.

"Sorry, Iz."

"That's all you have to say?"

"Um, well I actually have a lot to tell you."

Isabelle just kept going on though, "Well is it really important? Because I kinda wanna talk about how smokin' Jace is. But don't worry, I'll let you have him; I have someone else in mind for me, and recent developments have really helped me. I think he might be starting to like me back."

Clary ignored the first three quarters of Isabelle's words and instead focused on her last sentence, "Who is it?"

"Mmm, you'll find out soon enough."

Clary let it go because she actually really did want to tell Isabelle about everything that had happened. Then, she proceeded to do just that.

* * *

><p>Clary had just finished telling Isabelle about everything that had happened. Now she was listening to Isabelle rant about how confusing Jace was.<p>

"Are you sure he's not, like, bipolar or something?" Isabelle asked.

Clary smiled a little at that.

"I don't think so. He is confusing, but I think it's because he himself is so confused," Clary told her, her voice slightly sad when she once again thought about what could have possibly happened in Jace's past.

When Isabelle responded, she sounded oddly disappointed, "Yeah, but don't you think it would be kind of interesting if he was?"

"I suppose," Clary said not really meaning it. She didn't think she could deal with his mood swings being even worse.

Before Isabelle could ask any more questions, Clary changed the subject, "Hey, you haven't talked to Simon recently, have you?"

Clary heard Isabelle's voice change to a more sympathetic one as she said, "Um yeah just about an hour ago."

Clary waited for her to add more and when she didn't, she pressed her for more, "And..."

"Don't worry about it, Clary. He's really not mad at you just kinda hurt."

That answer frustrated Clary, if that's all it really was why did she have to make it seem like it wasn't?

"Well don't you think he's taking it a little too seriously?" Clary asked.

Clary heard Isabelle sigh on the other side of the phone, "Maybe you should just talk to him. It's not my job to explain."

"Is there something I don't know?" Clary asked her eyebrows creasing together.

"I've got to go, Clary. I'll see you tomorrow in school."

And then she hung up. So, that meant there was something Clary didn't know, but what could it be?

_'Why has my life gotten so confusing all of a sudden?' _Clary wondered to herself. She was really getting tired of all the drama.

So she decided to take a nice, relaxing bath and calm down. She would have taken a shower, but that hadn't turned out so well last time.

* * *

><p>Clary had just come back from her bath, and it actually had been relaxing. Now, she was sitting on her bed. She looked to her right and saw her clock, it said 6:34. That meant her parents would be making dinner soon, and even though she wasn't hungry, it meant she would probably get to see Jace. Though, based on the previous nights dinner, she wasn't sure dinner was the ideal time or place.<p>

She wondered if he was back yet. She figured that most walks didn't take three hours, so he probably was, but again, Jace was just that unpredictable. Plus, there was always the chance that he had just up and left, never to return, but Clary, for some reason, didn't think that was likely.

So, she got up, got dressed, and then made her way to the living room. When she arrived, she was pleasantly surprised. Sitting on her couch were two people. One was another of Clary's friends, Maia, but the other was someone she wouldn't have expected, which was odd, considering it was Simon. She was stopped in the doorway, waiting for them to turn and notice her, but when that didn't seem to like a promising act, she took matters into her own hands and cleared her throat. It made an awkward rumbling sound as it found its way out of her mouth.

They both whipped around, faster than a cobra striking its prey. '_Wow,'_ Clary thought, '_either they really weren't expecting me, which wouldn't make sense because why else would they be here, or, they really, really want to see me.' _Clary assumed it was the second one, but she wasn't sure if she was happy about it.

For all she knew, they could be about to screech and scream at her for what had happened with Simon, because they were definitely here because of Simon. And she really didn't want to be on the wrong side with Maia because she was one tough girl and she knew just how to hurt you. But if you were her friend, you were generally safe, so Clary was pretty sure she was in the clear.

But then again, Maia was closer to Simon than she was to Clary, and Clary knew that if Maia had to choose, she'd choose Simon. Clary didn't really mind though, considering she would choose Simon as well. Not to say she didn't love Maia like crazy, but Simon was her best friend over everyone. And that's why she would put up with the possible yelling, so that it could remain that way.

That's not to say, however, that Clary wasn't extremely glad when Maia smiled at her, and said, "Hi, Clary!"

Clary grinned back tentatively and shot a quick glance over to Simon before saying, "Hey, Maia."

She didn't want to make Simon feel worse though, so she quickly said "hi" to him too.

He nodded in response. Maia then turned to him and whispered something to him. It sounded like, "Way to make it awkward Simon."

She also thought she heard Simon say, "It already was, though I suppose that was actually because of me as well." She couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not.

"So, what's up you guys?"

Maia gently nudged Simon with her shoulder, urging him to speak up.

He looked a little green but then he said, "I'm sorry, Clary. I think I over-reacted a bit. I just took everything the wrong way. I'm not mad at you."

Clary wanted to say something like, "Yeah, you did," but she figured that wouldn't go over well, and only add to the mess, so, instead, she said, "Thanks, Simon. So we're all good?"

He smiled, she smiled, and she knew things would go back to normal. It didn't stop Clary from wanting to ask about whatever Isabelle hadn't been telling her on the phone. She thought that would probably be a bad idea, too, so she, once again, left it alone.

"Do you guys want to stay for dinner?" Clary asked.

They nodded their heads, pleased with the idea. Then, Clary remembered how dinner had gone last night, and she wasn't sure she wanted more witnesses. Thinking of that made her wonder where Jace was. Surely he was back. It's not like she'd checked all the rooms, in fact, the living room in which she currently stood was the only one she had.

Clary didn't want to leave her friends after what couldn't even be called a conversation, but she also really wanted to find Jace. However, she also didn't want to bring Jace up in front of Simon. Once, again, probably a bad idea.

She decided to go for it anyway, and asked if they had seen him. Clary didn't miss the hidden glints of hatred in both Simon and Maia's eyes. They acted their age though and got over it, though, neither of them did answer with words. Nope, they just simply nodded.

"Oh. Okay well thanks anyway," she said with what she hoped was a tension-relieving smile.

It didn't work, but then, thankfully, Clary heard the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen and she volunteered them all to help. She would just have to wait for Jace to show himself.

Luke and her mom quickly set the three of them up with jobs and soon Clary was too busy having fun (as in she, Maia, and Simon kept throwing food at each other) to worry too much about Jace. But everytime her parents caught them and slightly reprimanded them, during which time the food-flinging temporarily halted, Clary's mind would instantly flutter away and think about all the other things going on in her life. Specifically Jace. '_Okay,' _she admitted, '_maybe it's only Jace.' _

It wasn't long, even with most of the food on the floor, before dinner was ready and they were setting up the table. Luke went to go get Jace, who _had_apparently arrived, and soon all six of them were sitting down to a warm meal of, rice, chicken, lettuce, salsa, and cheese wraps.

When Jace had first arrived, he had caught sight of Simon, and Simon had caught sight of him, and there had been a temporary "macho man" stare/stand of. No one in the room had missed it. As Clary served herself, she realized that the previous nights dinner would probably be a meadow full of pink flowers and butterflies and cookies compared to this one.

"So Simon, you've already ditched Clary for this girl? Think of how poor Clary must feel. Though, I suppose you must have felt something similar when Clary so quickly dismissed your love yesterday."

And so it began.

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><p><strong>Here ya go! Enjoy! The next update might not be for a while because I'm going to be pretty busy : but who knows, maybe I'll surprise you ;) xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Clary was lying in the grass outside her house. There were a million thoughts running through the back of her mind, but rather than pressing against her like a dog looking for a good rub, she had forced them to sit, to stay, and leave her alone. So, she was spread all over the rippling green sea and looking up into the endless sky and everything around her, with what she hoped could be considered an artist's eye.

She certainly thought it could. She noticed things most people probably wouldn't, like the way that as the leaves on the trees crinkled in the wind, their appearance could only be described by the way they sounded. And it was a delicious sound, almost like tinkling chimes, but so much more beautiful because it never sounded the same.

Clary went around her yard and every time she found something that struck her, whether it be by beauty or strangeness, she then matched it with a star. There were so many stars, a myriad of them, and when a surprising amount were matched Clary was content to believe that though her life might be pretty confusing, there were plenty of things to make up for it, and it certainly wasn't the worst.

But thinking about that made her think of the dinner she had just been a part of nearly an hour ago. As Clary had predicted it had been a disaster. Between the venomous words and fiery glares, she wasn't sure how it didn't completely fall apart. Simon and Jace spat insult after insult at each other and they both made it clear that any interventions, whether they be from Clary, Maia, Luke, or Jocelyn, were not welcome, and it was a conversation just between the two.

Clary wasn't sure why they had taken such a strong disliking to each other. The first time they ever saw each other, when Jace had first arrived, what was very clear was each boys strong distaste for the other. You could see it in their glances; disgust, hate, and a million more emotions, all bad, were laced in every deadly look. It was the same with their words. Even seemingly nice ones were heavily burdened with the weight of disguised loathing.

The dinner, for Jace and Simon, had been one massive argument, but for the rest of them it was a disaster filled with awkwardness. Even when Maia had tried to distract Clary, she could hear Simon and Jace, like a pounding in her head. And like a headache, it made Clary want to curl up and sleep.

That's what she had been planning to do, but even after dinner ended, the two boys carried their verbal fight into the living room and no room in the house could provide the sanctuary Clary needed. Luke had tried to get them to calm down, even to ask for Simon to leave, but he quickly claimed the house was more of his home then it would ever be Jace's and insisted Jace be the one to leave. Clary had expected Jace to leave, to take it as an invitation, but it was clear Jace was a stubborn person and the fact that he was told to leave made him more than determined to stay.

So, Clary went outside, and forced her mind to relax, and every time thoughts of the dinner came up, she squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the patterns on the insides of her eyelids. It worked every time, until Maia came out to talk to her mid-eye squeeze.

"Hey Clary," she whispered softly so as not to disturb the gentle calm that washed over the star streaked evening.

Clary opened her eyes and found that the swirling designs she had just seen were printed everywhere she looked. When she looked over to Maia she saw a soothing understanding and as much as it meant to Clary that Maia came to talk to her, to comfort her, Clary wasn't really in the mood for a heart-to-heart. However, she couldn't turn away someone who so clearly cared.

She spoke quietly to Maia, more faint and gentle than the sweet, caressing wind, "Hey."

Maia took this as an invitation to lay beside her and promptly did just that. For a while neither said anything more, basking in the peaceful silence. Clary knew that Maia had come out to talk, but Maia in turn knew that Clary wouldn't talk until she was ready. Clary wasn't sure when she would be ready; so many things were running through her mind. Besides the obvious dinner situation, she was beginning to wonder if she had over-reacted, a thought that had been running through her head quite often recently.

Sure, it was pretty stressful to have Jace, a person determined to frustrate, confuse, and annoy Clary more than she ever had been, but why was it bothering her so much? Why did she want to figure him out so badly and why did the thought of not doing so haunt her like a demented spirit? Clary supposed it could have been his bad-boy attitude, or obvious good-looks, but Clary had a feeling it was something she hadn't even discovered yet.

_'Maybe that's why this is making me react so... so... badly,'_she thought to herself.

She also thought that maybe the fact that everything that Jace did was so extreme led to her reactions being just as intense. It made sense. She thought of a random teenager she had seen at a club she liked to go to, _Pandemonium. _He and another boy had been having a dance-off, though Clary supposed it might have been more of a who-can-flip-their-head-faster-off than actual dancing. The other boy went first and he had done a decent enough job, but nothing surprising or spectacular had happened. When it was the boy's turn to go, he added moves that inspired gasps from the onlookers. Then, he had ended with a backwards flip off of one of the tables. Needless to say the applause for him had drowned the entire club and the other boy was soon forgotten.

She was remembering that night fondly when Maia asked, "Why are you smiling?"

For a second Clary was surprised, but it was a good surprise because she had been having one of those subconsciously happy moments where afterwards you're even happier than you were before because you never realized in the first place.

"Thinking of a dance-off at _Pandemonium_a while back."

Clary sent a quick glance over in Maia's direction and saw the confused set of her eyebrows. It only made Clary smile bigger realizing that she would never to be able to connect the night to a dance-off.

Clary could tell Maia was waiting for her to explain, but Clary wasn't going to so instead she said to Maia, "We've got school tomorrow."

Maia sent her another confused look, but instead of asking about the random statement she said, "Yeah, I know. Weekends are great but it feels like you're a bunny chasing after a carrot and then suddenly the carrot just disappears."

"And we have that giant test tomorrow in History."

Conversation carried on like that until Maia's parents called her to go home. Even though Clary hadn't originally wanted to talk to Maia she was certainly a better distraction then eyelid patterns. Before Maia left she went inside to get her shoes and when she came back out she reported to Clary that the boys had stopped fighting. She said she wasn't sure where Jace had gone, but Simon was watching T.V. with her parents.

So Clary got up, dusted off her pants, and walked back into her house. She was prepared for her parents and Simon's sympathetic and sorry glances, but what she wasn't prepared for was to see Jace sitting on the chair adjacent to the sofa where the other three sat.

Her brows dipped in confusion walked into the room, waiting for them to notice her. When they did they shot her the expected looks, but kindly left it alone. Except for Jace, of course. Jace smirked at her with a smugness radiating off him, and it made Clary wonder if he had initially started the fight because he wanted to anger Clary. It wouldn't have surprised her.

"Did you have a nice time Clary?" Jace asked, with a tone that was clearly meant to annoy.

As much as she wanted to just ignore him, she wanted even more to tell him, "Yes, actually, considering you weren't there."

So that's exactly what she did. It took her a while to realize that Jace being Jace, it had probably been the exact kind of response he wanted. The significant growth of his grin proved her right.

She noticed her mom shoot her a look that asked, no demanded, she not get him going again, so Clary didn't wait for a response and instead went into the kitchen to poor herself a glass of milk. She wondered to herself why Jace found so much satisfaction in negatively affecting other people.

She had just finished putting the milk back in the refrigerator when she turned and saw her mom leaning against the counter.

"What were you thinking about out there?" her mom asked.

Clary didn't reply, simply sighed and looked at her mom in a way she hoped would explain well enough. Apparently she did because Jocelyn sighed as well before sinking into one of the kitchen table chairs. Clary was soon to follow and sat across from her.

"Look honey, I know Jace is a bit rough to handle, they certainly weren't joking when they told us, but I can see, and I know you can too, that there's a genuinely good kid somewhere inside him. Besides, he likes you Clary, of everyone here, he likes you the most," Clary started to disagree but Jocelyn stopped her, "and don't say that's not true, I'm a mother and I can see it is," she said with a smile.

Clary smiled too.

"Anyway my point is that if any of us can get him to come out of his shell it's going to be you. That doesn't mean I'm not going to help, but don't you give up on him Clary, because when you finally find _Jace_you'll be so glad you didn't."

With that, Clary's mom stood up, walked over to Clary, smoothed her hair back, and gently kissed her forehead, wiping away all the worry in her head. Then, Clary finished her milk and set off to her comfy, beckoning bed. It had been a long, day after all.

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><p><strong>Hey guys! So sorry it took so long to update, but I just haven't been able to find the time. I'll try to update tomorrow too, but unfortunately after that, I probably won't be able to for a while again. Anyway, hope you enjoy! xx<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Clary woke up the next morning to her blaring alarm clock, almost surprised it had been the first interruption from her sleep. Normally Clary would have hated its shrill scream, which rang throughout her ears like a wailing baby's cries, as well as all the things it represented, but today she welcomed it. Today she welcomed it because it meant being somewhere other than the same place Jace was, and that meant she could finally feel like her life was still normal.

But then she felt guilty. She thought of the talk she and her mom had had and remembered how she had thought it was such good advice and that she was definitely going to take it. Could she really be blamed though? Jace made her so confused. Everytime she saw him she was torn between wanting to smother him in hug and punch some sense into him.

Then, she realized that Jace would probably be going to school as well, and that maybe she wouldn't be as free as she thought. Thinking of everything the day was sure to hold, she took back any remorse she'd been feeling.

With a groan, Clary swiped her hand across the clock and quickly swung her legs out of her warm bed. What she had initially thought was going to be a good day now seemed daunting and pushed her with strong hands back into bed. However, Clary was a fighter and she managed to get dressed, brush her teeth, shower, and drag her feet into the kitchen. When she arrived, she was surprised with a delicious, warm, steaming breakfast that broke into her clouded head and put a brilliant smile on her face.

"You made breakfast! Thanks Mom!" Clary said.

Then, Jocelyn turned around, saw Clary, and smiled cheerily back at her, "Your welcome, Darling," she said as she walked from the kitchen and into the living room.

Clary quickly went and got herself a plate from the cupboard and then went to gather food. She couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous when she shoveled food onto her awaiting plate, shoulders hunched as she smelled the bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, and pancakes.

"You'd think you were starving," she heard an amused voice say from behind her.

She recognized the voice as Jace's, and instead of answering she turned to glare at him. Part of her expected Jace to be a hypocrite and rake the food onto his plate just as enthusiastically as her, but the larger, correct, part of her expected him to delicately spoon food onto his plate. Needless to say his polite motions not only embarrassed her (after all she, the girl, should have been the one who was being gentle) but also sparked a fiery indignation inside her that led to her shoveling even faster and putting even more on her plate. The disgusted/fascinated/surprised look on his face. Yes, sometimes being contrary and stubborn was quite fun.

However, when Jace then simply shook his head with an amused half-smile and turned away, Clary could feel the exasperated pout on her face. Then, when she was done, she walked with her back straight to a seat at the kitchen table, diagonal from Jace. She noticed that Jace was making a point to take perfect, prim, and proper bites, so Clary ignored him and simply enjoyed her food.

As hard as she tried to ignore him, she couldn't help sneaking glances over at him every once in a while. Most of the time he'd be staring right back at her, and she had to admit it was a bit unnerving.

Finally, it got to her and she said, "Why do you keep staring at me?"

"Why not? And besides you were staring at me, too. Not that I can really blame you."

Clary simply raised an eyebrow and watched as Jace childishly smirked at her.

"Oh, and by the way," he said, "Jocelyn and Luke said that it would be a good idea for you to show me around on my first day of school."

His following grin rubbed in her face the fact that she wouldn't be able to get away from him. Clary couldn't also help but be a little frustrated. She and Jace weren't even in the same grade. She was in tenth, and, she assumed, Jace would be in eleventh or possibly even twelfth.

She slit her eyes and said, "But we're not even in the same grade."

This bit of knowledge apparently didn't actually seem like knowledge to jace, for he said, "Oh? I didn't realize."

Clary was getting frustrated, but somehow managed to grind out from between her teeth, "There's no need to be sarcastic, but I don't really see how I'm going to manage to show you to all of your classes and still get to mine on time, so I think you'll have to manage on your own. Or can you not handle that?"

Jace brushed off her response and said, "Of course I don't need your help. I don't even need to be going to school. I already know everything I need too and more. My father taught me more than any teacher ever could. It might even get a little embarrassing for them."

Though Clary knew Jace meant it as one of his typical-Jace comebacks, she couldn't help but notice the mention of his father. And the look in his eyes when he mentioned him. She was so busy reveling in the new piece of information, no matter how small, that she forgot to reply to him.

She was completely oblivious to the world until she heard Jace say, "Rendered you speechless, have I? I have to admit, that was one of my worst comebacks. It's always good to know that even at your worst, you're still better than everyone else."

"Haha, very funny," Clary said as she got up to put her stuff in her backpack.

"Oooo good one," Jace said with a generous amount of mockery in his tone.

Clary just continued with her stuffing. She could hear Jace start to follow her lead. In the back of her mind, she wondered when Jace had gotten a backpack, but also figured he probably already had one and had just brought it along.

As Clary was turning to get a pen she had left on the counter next to the counter, she, never known for her grace, banged into the still scalding hot grease in the pan from the bacon and it burned a fiery trail all the way from the stove top to her unfortunate, bare foot. The searing oily liquid could be heard as it sizzled against her flesh, but once Clary recognized the pain, the only thing that could be heard was her ear-splitting scream.

She dropped the pencil out of surprise and promptly dropped to the floor. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes as she not only felt the terrible pain, but saw the absolute mess her foot was in. The skin was horribly burned, but worse than that were the grotesque blisters that bubbled up.

Clary was vaguely aware of footsteps making their way toward her, but all she could focus on was the blinding pain in her foot, which was somehow spreading up her entire leg. It wasn't until she felt lean, muscular arms wrap around her that she fully realized there was someone there to help her. She looked up, and even though her blurred vision, she could make out Jace's figure. She wasn't sure whether it was just her significantly dis-enhanced vision or if it was a genuine emotion, but Clary thought there was an unmistakable amount of horrified worry covering Jace's face entirety.

**Here's the next chapter guys! Before I upload the next chapter, I want at least 5 more reviews! Soooooooo review review review! xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Are you okay, Clary?" he asked.

Clary desperately wanted to point out the fact that her foot was severely burned and that, no, she definitely was _not_okay, but all she could manage was a pitiful whimper and what she hoped was a look that clearly said what she could not.

Apparently, it did, because Jace said with a grimace, "Eh, right, that's a no."

Then, Jace looked up at something above him and said, "It looks like she spilled the bacon grease on her foot."

Again, Clary wanted to speak, to say, "Look who's stating the obvious now," but she couldn't. Instead, she glanced at whoever Jace had been talking to. It turned out to be both Luke and Jocelyn. The looks on their face were distressed and worried.

Luke turned to Clary's mom and said, "I'll take her to the hospital, you focus on getting Jace to school."

Then he turned to Clary and started to help her up, but Jace interrupted his movements by saying, "I want to go, too."

For a second Luke looked puzzled, but then he turned to Clary's mom and the two shared a look. Clary wasn't sure what it meant, and made a mental note to ask later.

Apparently, it made Luke decide to let Jace come with them, because the next thing Clary heard was, "All right. Jace you can come along. Though it's probably not a good idea to have you be late to school on your first day."

Clary thought to herself that Jace probably just wanted to get out of school. At least, that's what she thought until she saw the look of pure worry on Jace's face. Just knowing that Jace actually cared for her made her feel infinitely better and allowed her to stand up, with the help of Luke, of course. Clary remembered what her mother had said, that Jace actually did like her, and realized for the first time without a doubt, that Jace did indeed like her.

* * *

><p>Clary, Luke, Jace, and Jocelyn were currently sitting in a hospital waiting room. Clary figured they must have been quite the sight to see. What, with one of Clary's feet marred with burns and blisters and the other three in various states of disarray. Jocelyn and Luke were wearing their pajamas. The formers consisting of a ratty t-shirt with unorganized designs of holes and sweatpants covered in paint stains. The latter's was another hole-worn t-shirt as well as pants that were covered in Scooby-Doo pictures. Jace was the only one who looked halfway normal, though his hair was noticeably unbrushed. Not that it seemed to deter the giggling nurses.<p>

Jace seemed to take their attention in with amused delight, though there was no surprise in his attitude. Clary wanted to snap, to both Jace and the nurses, that there was a considerable age difference, but didn't want to cause any awkwardness. Plus, she still wasn't sure she would even be able to say anything. The pain had decreased considerably, but it was still lingering, and to say the least, it was more pain than she had ever been in before.

They had been waiting for a doctor for a painfully soporific amount of time and Clary desperately wished she had her phone. She watched as Jace handed out _his _phone number to the bunch of shyly smiling nurses.

_'That's just gross,'_Clary thought.

When Jace came back over, she decided to try out her voice, "You do realize they're about 20 years older than you, don't you?"

Though her voice was gravelly from all the crying and grated on her ears, she managed to get the sentence out. She hadn't even cried for that long really, she thought proudly, it was more the rate at which the tears fell that caused her voice to crack.

Jace, being his usual infuriating self, smirked at her while simultaneously putting his phone, now filled with old lady numbers, back into his jacket.

"Of course I realize. Though I made sure to tell them that I didn't," Jace said, clearly amused.

Clary gave him a look that portrayed everything she was feeling: disgust, horror, and the overwhelming feeling to throw up. Though, she supposed that was most likely from the pain, rather than Jace's impertinent ways. Clary was about to respond to him, but was interrupted when a doctor finally came to see her.

Looking at the clock, she saw that they had been waiting for over an hour. She would have said something about the extremely slow service, but earlier she had seen a little boy with an arrow going in one side of his arm and coming out the other. The doctors had quickly taken him back and she realized that there were more serious cases that needed to be put before her, and she certainly wasn't going to complain. Sure the burn looked and hurt like hell, it wasn't life threatening. An arrow through your arm, she figured, was not only extremely painful, but was certainly life threatening. The amount of blood on the little boy when he walked in had already been enough to cover his entire arm, and she couldn't imagine how much there would be once the arrow was removed.

As she got up, she turned to look at the three people with her, questioning with her eyes whether they were going to come or not, whether they were even allowed to go.

Jace seemed to understand her because he said, "Are we allowed to go back with you?"

The doctor's eyes swept across the three people sitting anxiously in the gray plastic chairs. To Clary they looked more like they were on the verge of death from lack of entertainment, but there was also definitely an eagerness to see what was going to happen, as well as worry for her. Even Jace looked that way, though Clary could tell he was trying to hide his emotions.

With a sigh he said, "All of you can come, but if it gets too crowded one of you will have to go."

Jocelyn and Luke smiled gratefully, while Jace merely nodded his head in acknowledgement.

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><p>By the time everything had been sorted out, it was nearly 12 o'clock. They had gotten there at 7. The doctor had examined her foot, wrapped it in bandages, explained to her the proper method of cleaning and care, given her ointment for it, and told her about long-term effects. Clary had tried to take everything in, but honestly she was worn out and frustrated and bored and she just couldn't comprehend what he was saying, so she decided she would rely on the other three to remember everything the doctor, who's name she'd discovered was Dr. Warzinski, had said.<p>

One thing she could clearly remember from his spiel was that he recommended she take the rest of the day off from school. Her parents decided to include Jace in that as well. Getting to stay home from school was a relief to Clary because her foot still hurt, and the bandage rubbing and pushing against it wasn't helping, plus she felt like she was just about ready to collapse. In fact, as soon as she sat down in the car, she fell asleep. When they had arrived back at their house, Luke had tried carrying her in, but had accidentally bumped her burned foot against the door, and hence woke Clary up. Though, he had still carried her in.

When Luke laid her down on the couch, she called out, "Can you get me my phone?"

He bent down, kissed her forehead, and replied, "Sure thing sweetie."

When he brought it back to her, she saw that she had 6 missed calls, and 20 text messages.

She smiled to herself, grateful of her caring friends. When she opened the first text, from Simon, it said everything she expected: '_Where are you?' 'Did something happen?'_ But when she got to the end she saw something she never would have expected.

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><p><strong>Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews :) I hope you are still enjoying this story... :D Anyway this time I want ten reviews please! And also! I was asked what grade jace is in, and I've decided to put Jace in 11th grade. :) Also I changed the rating to T because there was a swear word and it's not going to be the last... sooo you are warned! xx<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_'There's a new guy here and he's been looking for you.'_

The text from Simon had been exactly what she'd been expecting up until that point. It's not to say the latter part of the text scared her beyond words or something drastic such as that, but the surprise and the slight warning that buzzed in the back of her head certainly registered within her mind.

Mostly, Clary was surprised a boy was looking for her. Though Clary had male friends, that's all they were and she generally wasn't sought after by people of the male persuasion, or anyone for that matter. Although, there had been that one time when a small boy, resembling a teddy bear of sorts, with his plump face and round nose, had thought she was his true love. That, however, was right before he found out there was a ten year age difference.

Clary had never had a boyfriend, or even anything close, so to hear that an unknown boy was searching specifically for her was, needless to say, a bit of a shock. But, once the initial bewilderment wore off, a more disturbing thought came to mind. How did this boy even know who she was?

* * *

><p>Clary had then quickly read the rest of her texts, as well as listened to her voice mail, and had come across similar words. From Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus, she was told that the boy was highly attractive and <em>'honestly one of the most charming people'. <em>This, as expected, came as quite a shock to Clary; not only was a boy looking for her, but he was **good-looking** and **charming**.

Coming from Alec, Isabelle's older brother, and Magnus, Alec's boyfriend, she knew Isabelle wasn't just exaggerating for her own sake. The boy was everything Isabelle had said. Apparently, according to her friends, his name was Sebastian.

At the mention of attractive boys, Clary couldn't help but let her mind flutter over to Jace. She wondered, briefly, where he was, but figured she wouldn't be able to find him anyway, as she had never been able to before. Sometimes Jace seemed like a bit of a recluse. She suddenly had a picture in her mind of Jace huddled in a dark corner, wrapped in a blanket, sucking his thumb, and singing too himself. The image caused a short burst of laughter to erupt from Clary's chest. Surely, in that moment, she had looked like the crazy one, laughing at what was seemingly nothing.

However, she was soon surprised by the appearance of Jace. She had been laughing at the time he walked in, but she was sure she wouldn't have been able to hear him anyway, and wonder quite how that was possible.  
>Jace looked over to her, gave her a questioning look, and said, "Something funny?"<p>

The question brought a whole new round of laughter racking through Clary's body. The words hadn't even been that funny, but Clary laughed the kind of laugh that leaves only the glorious sound of happy tears streaming down cheeks in its wake.

"I don't remember them giving you laughing gas," Jace said, half-joking, half-serious.

It took Clary a few seconds to calm down and recall her breath back to herself, but when she did she said, " Why do I need laughing gas to have a good laugh?"

Jace leaned up against the wall and looked down upon her spot on the sofa, "I never said you did. It's just not very common for someone to laugh for no reason at all, when they're completely alone. Usually, it's just the crazy ones, which, I suppose, in your case, would be quite logical. Especially considering that last little episode."

It was clear to Clary that Jace was simply going, considering he had had no previous evidence. The gentle, yet confused smile on his face was also a big give-away. So, Clary merely stuck her tongue out at him and sat up. She then proceeded to re-pick up her phone and reply to all her friends.

Jace, of course, noticed and came over to sit next to her before asking, "Who're you texting?"

She replied with "Isabelle", as that was someone he knew and, as far as Clary was aware of, had nothing against.

He nodded slowly, lazily, and wondered aloud, "What about?"

At first, Clary wasn't sure she wanted to tell him, but thought back to her many previous moments spent pondering how to gain his trust. Surely, trusting him would be a sure-fire way to gain just that.

"Apparently there's some new guy asking around for me at school."

At that Jace sat up a little bit straighter, and Clary thought that maybe, just maybe, she could see a sheen of protectiveness shade his eyes.

"Why was he looking for you?"

And now Clary could clearly see his defensive stature, as he clenched his jaw and spoke.

"I'm actually not sure. Izzy doesn't know exactly why either."

His eyes flashed for a second before he calmed down, nodded his head, and said, "Tell me if you find out. Do you need anything?"

Clary shook her head. Then, upon the realization that she was actually quite thirsty, in fact so much that her mouth tasted bitter with the taste of a parched tongue, she was about to open up her mouth to say, _'Well, actually maybe some water,'_when Jace got up and walked into the kitchen. Perhaps to make himself some. Though Clary was disappointed he had walked away, she couldn't help but feel pleased with his reaction. That was two times in one day Jace had shown he cared for Clary. At this realization, Clary's mind, heart, and stomach started tumbling.

Then, Clary got up to try and make herself some water. She tried not to put too much pressure on her burned foot, but even the lightest touch sent sparks up her foot, an unfortunate reminder of the real cause of her pain. By the time she got to the kitchen, Jace was already gone.

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><p><strong>Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. I was busy with Christmas, New Years and family visiting and just didn't have any time. Thanks to everyone who's reading my story :) I'll try to update soon. Until next time! xx<strong>

**Actually, the only reason I updated today was because my sister wouldn't stop bugging me about it. She's pretty awesome, possibly the coolest, hottest person I know. So you should all really thank her. No really you should. She would love it. **

**That second part was my sister... if you couldn't tell... haha :D She edits my stories so she managed to squeeze that bit in... I guess I'll let her have her satisfaction... ;D Review! xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The rest of the day was uneventful, and a pleasant calm to the morning's chaos. Jace was surprisingly quiet, hardly making any sarcastic remarks, and Clary wondered what could possibly be bothering him so intensely. She wondered for a brief second if his uncharacteristic behavior had anything to do with the person looking for her, but nearly immediately crumpled it up and threw that thought in the metaphorical trash can inside her mind. Even though Jace did seem affected by it, there would be no reason to react in such a way.

She contemplated asking him about it, but based on what she knew about Jace so far, she figured it would only set him off and send him back into one of his misanthropic spells. There were so many unknowns revolving around Jace, like a sun, a million miles away. And sometimes it really felt like Jace was a million miles away. She wondered what he thought about, when he went on his journeys.

Did he think about his past, whatever that exactly was? Maybe he thought of everything that was going on in his life at that moment. Perhaps he dreamed of everything his future would hold, and how his past and present affected the outcome. Or maybe he wished for everything to be different and floated into a reverie of make believe where his past was his future and his future was sealed as something even better.

Clary didn't know exactly how Jace was responding to everything, but she did know he probably sighed many a time over things lost, forgotten, impossible, and implausible. He was probably swept away by stories from within himself, that were the perfect remedy for his fractured real world. Then again, Jace didn't really seem like much of a dreamer, not the type to burden himself with the inevitable disappointment of unachievable wishes. But perhaps nothing was impossible to Jace. Maybe Jace was the type of person who never gave up on things, who was always pushing his limits.

Clary honestly didn't know enough about Jace to officially determine his mind-set, but one thing she did know was that if she were him, she would certainly not believe anything was possible. She didn't know about his past, but from what she could tell, it wasn't a good one, and had probably left him scarred. Clary thought, even though she didn't necessarily want to admit it, that she probably wouldn't have been able to handle it.

Clary's dad had left her mom before she was even born, without even a note. Her real dad had never even married her mom, both of being fairly young when her mother became pregnant. And the simple fact that she never met her dad was enough to break her down sometimes. It wasn't that she missed him, because how could you miss someone you've never met? No, it was that she felt guilty, as silly and petty as that was.

She felt guilty because she was the reason her father left. No, it was never actually officially said, but when your father leaves before you're born, after being with your mother for years, there's really no other explanation. Of course Clary realized that in no way was she in control of the things that had happened between her parents, the blame was completely on them, but that didn't stop her from feeling at fault.

The point is, Clary felt sick to her stomach every time she thought of that, so for Jace to have to remember his surely horrifying past was unthinkable to her. It made her respect have in a way he hadn't before, realizing this. Jace may have been rough around the edges, but he somehow managed to keep them from completely fraying. Clary knew, if she were in his position, or at least what she assumed was his position, she would be beyond the point of frazzled. She would be decaying and wishing everything would just stop.

And Clary liked to think of herself as a strong person, but with the events of the past couple of days, as well as her inner revelation about Jace, she suddenly felt like a coward and undeniably foolish.

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><p>Clary woke up the next morning with a throbbing in her foot and an aching in her head. She hadn't got much sleep the night before and was now facing a severe thumping to her brain because of it. There wasn't anything she could have done about it anyway. Between the painkillers wearing off in the middle of the night, leaving her foot too sore to get more, and continuing to think of Jace, staying awake was sighed, Jace had only been in her life for a few days and he was already turning it upside down.<p>

Slightly frustrated with everything that had happened the night before, Clary flung herself out of her bed, temporarily forgetting her burned foot. When she stepped on it, pain shot from the very tips of her toes all the way up to her hips. She let out a sharp sigh, trying to keep quiet in case anybody was still sleeping. Quickly, she shifted most of her weight to her good foot and limped over to her closet to find an outfit to wear for the day. Staying upright while putting her jeans on proved to be a harder task than she would have guessed, taking more than 10 minutes due to her multiple falls.

Flinging the hair that had flown into her face away, she breathed out heavily, displacing her hair again. Then, she hobbled over to her door, finally able to leave her room. She made her way to the kitchen, where, once again, her mother was waiting. This time, though, no bacon, eggs, or elaborate breakfast was made. Instead, Jocelyn had a bowl of cereal waiting for Clary. She went over, snatched her cereal away, and slumped down into her chair.

Her mom, seeing her trouble, said, "If you're not feeling up to going to school today, we'll call the school up and let them know."

As much as Clary wanted to take her mom up on her offer, she shook her head, signaling she was fine. She desperately wanted to find out more about this new boy. Her mom shook her head in slight disapproval and exasperation, but said nothing more.  
>Then, Jace walked in, brooding face once more in place. Both Clary and her mom looked at him at the same time, though Jocelyn was the one to speak.<p>

"Good morning, Jace. Do you want any cereal? I didn't know what you would like so there's none ready."

Jace shook his head and said, "No thanks."

_'Well at least he's being kind of polite,'_Clary thought.

She watched as he walked over to a bowl filled with various fruits that was set on the counter. He plucked out an apple and took a bite into it. The snap the skin made as it broke reverberated around the room, making the silence seem that much more quiet. Then, Jace looked over to Clary.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "You're still going to school?"

She nodded, giving him a look that told him exactly why she was going to school, and based on the look Jace gave her, he didn't approve. For some reason that Clary didn't understand, Jace was dead set against anything having to do with the mysterious boy.

He responded with, "I don't really think that's a good idea."

Clary was getting slightly frustrated at this point and snapped at him, "Well it's not up to you anyway. And it's none of your business."

Jace's eyes lit on fire for a brief second before they cooled once more to an icy calm. Out of the corner of her eye, Clary noticed her mom watching their exchange, and decided her mom was pretty perceptive, for she left them alone, clearly noticing they had something to talk about. Of course, Clary knew her mom would undoubtedly barrage her with questions later on.

When she was out of the room and her footsteps could no longer be heard Clary said, "I need to find out who this guy is."

Jace rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed at her persistence.

"What if I find out for you?" he offered.

Her nostrils flared in anger, "No. I want to find out."

He threw his now destroyed apple into the trash before saying heatedly, "He's not a good guy, Clary."

Clary threw her hands in the air, not understanding how Jace would know what kind of guy he was.

She voiced her question aloud, "And how would you know? You don't even know his name."

Jace smirked at her and said, "His name is Sebastian."

Clary's mouth dropped slightly in confusion and, unwilling to give into Jace said, "Why would you think that?"

Silently, but with the smirk still on his face, Jace pulled Clary's phone out from a pocket in his pants.

Clary's confusion and frustration ignited into fury and she hissed angrily, "You took my phone?"

Jace narrowed his eyes and increased his smirk into one even more sarcastic, "And read through it, my dear."

Though Clary would never admit it, she blushed a little when Jace called her his dear, but quickly dusted the blush from her skin and let her anger return.

"You can't just do that," she informed him harshly, "the stuff in my phone is mine and therefore not yours."

Jace rolled his eyes and said, "As if I care. Privacy means nothing to me."

Clary let out an indignant snort and said, "Oh, so if I somehow found out everything about you, you wouldn't care? Because privacy is unimportant, right?"

Clary watched as Jace's hands clenched and unclenched before he said, "That's completely different."

Now Clary rolled _her_eyes said, "Whatever, Jace, just give me my phone."

She reached for said object, but Jace pushed it above his head and held it there.

"Only if you promise not to go looking for Sebastian. Trust me, Clary; he's not a good guy."

Clary's lip curled up on one side, but she said, "Fine."

Of course, that was an absolute lie, and Jace's reluctance told her he may have sensed it, but he gave her the phone back anyway. She now had to figure out a way to talk to the guy without Jace finding out, which, she admitted, could be harder than she thought.

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><p><strong>Here you go guys! Review my lovelies! Hope you enjoy! xx<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

When Jace and Clary got to school, the first thing they did was go to the office to get Jace settled with his schedule, as well as a map of the school, textbooks, and various other neccesites. The whole time, Clary was searching discreetly, or at last she hoped, for one of her friends. She was desperate for news on Sebastian, even though Jace had warned her against anything to do with him. Clary was a curious girl and her curiosity pulled her eyes with a secret fervor. The fact that Jace was so dead-set on Sebastian being trouble only blew up that same desire for knowledge.

It wasn't until they had made it out the dreary front office that Clary spotted Isabelle. She quickly glanced at Jace, decided he would be fine on his own (or maybe she just did it to spite him), and left him to go run up to Isabelle. Clary hadn't, however, been expecting Jace to follow her, but he did, almost like a lost puppy, though considerably less innocent. She continued on her way to Isabelle despite her tag-along and when she reached her friend, she gave her a brief hug. She was just about to greet Isabelle when Jace beat her to it.

"Isabelle, right?" Jace inquired.

Clary couldn't help but notice the way Jace's eyes caressed Isabelle's body, all the way from the six inch, midnight black stiletto heals to her extremely revealing short, low cut dress to her beautiful, angelic face. Clary also couldn't help but feel a surge of unwelcome jealousy rush through her in a hot wave, nor the feeling of inferiority that tangled itself evilly into her mind, her own outfit being a hastily scrambled together t-shirt, ratty jeans, and worn-out sneakers.

"That's right," Isabelle said in a falsely smooth and sultry voice, "and you're Jace, right?"

Then it was Isabelle's turn to check Jace out, except this time, Clary went, however unwillingly, with her. It was impossible to deny the beauty that resonated from every inch of Jace's body. On this particular day, that statement was certainly true. He was dressed fairly casually, seeing as he only had what he had brought with him from his previous foster home. Covered in dark, though faded, jeans, a black t-shirt, and black jacket, Jace looked like a dark angel.

She watched as Jace bit his lip and nodded in response to Isabelle. More jealousy ensued, but she kept it at bay, feeling ridiculous. After all, she had no claim over Jace, they weren't even on particularly good terms.

Quickly she intervened, "Hey, Iz, I need to talk to you."

Isabelle glanced over at her and told her, "Later, okay?"

Clary sighed with disappointment and frustration. She was about to try and persuade Isabelle to talk, when said girl winked at Jace and strutted promptly away.

The wink set Clary off and she turned to Jace and spat without thinking, "Don't flirt with Isabelle," she soon realized what she had said, though, and quickly added, "Simon likes her."

Blushing profusely, she looked away from Jace.

"I didn't mean anything by it, don't worry," he told her, "I'm not interested in Isabelle."

Blushing more, Clary replied, "I wasn't worried, I just- I- Simon wouldn't be happy if he found out."

Jace snorted and barked, "Yeah, like I'm scared of that little rat."

"Don't call him that!" Clary snapped.

She saw Jace poise himself to give her a sarcastic retort when the bell for homeroom rang shrilly throughout the hallways.

* * *

><p>In homeroom, Clary immediately sought out Simon. She knew he would have some answers. Thankfully, because Jace was in 11th grade, and she was in 10th, she was free to interrogate Simon about all things having to do with Sebastian.<p>

As soon as he came into view, she rushed over to him with a furious curiousity. She hastily pulled him to one side of the room, managing to conceal their conversation from eavesdropping ears just slightly behind the scarcely used projector resting on a wheeled cart.

"Simon," she whispered before skipping any greetings and saying, "What's going on with this Sebastian guy?"

Simon gave her an affronted look at first, but by the gentle, teasing smile that followed she knew he was joking.

"Hi to you too, Clary," he mumbled, hinting at the obvious lack of proper salutation.

"Sorry, Simon, I'm just really curious," she whined, the sound of it annoying even her ears.

"Curious about what?" she heard a masculine voice question behind her.

Jumping a bit, she turned around and was relieved to see it was only her friend, Magnus. As usual, Magnus was dressed as flamboyantly as she could imagine was possible. He was wearing sparkling black pants that glimmered even in the dim classroom light, mid-calf length lace up combat boots and a black satin shirt with rainbow breasted pockets.

However, she took it all in stride, not even truly noticing his odd apparel.

"We were just talking about that boy who's been asking about me, and I was just saying sorry to Simon because I may have not said hello to him, not that it really matters, and he was harassing me about it, well not really, and I was just saying how curious I was so it wasn't really my fault," she breathed out, only eventually trailing off once she realized in her attempt to quickly fill Magnus in, she had been rambling on unnecessarily.

"Mmm, well yes, love," Magnus purred in his usual Magnus-manner, using the pet name he had adorned to just about everyone he spoke to, though, it was more commonly used on his close friends. However, the seemingly sweet affection was etched out upon his next words, "I can see where your curiosity would stem from, seeing as, other than your dear friend Simon, emphasis on friend, and your father, you've never had the attention of a straight male before."

Clary gaped at him, clearly affronted by his words.

Magnus, seeing her shocked, appalled face, instantly spoke up, "I was just kidding, love," though, the slight glint in his eye spoke louder than the actual verbalized words and told her he was being quite honest, "Besides, that new roomy of yours has also surely said something to you before, though, his sexual orientation has yet to be discovered."

At this Clary spoke up, finally regaining her voice, "Jace is straight, Magnus."

Magnus raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow and said, "How can you be so sure, dear?"

With some unintentional and shocking, even to herself, bitterness Clary replied, "Because I saw the way he and Izzy were flirting earlier."

It was clear Magnus recognized her resentment towards the situation, however, he chose to ignore it in favor of glancing with slight worry towards Simon. Soon, Clary was doing the same. Upon seeing Simon's angered face, Clary instantly regretted her statement, only then remembering the massive crush he had on Isabelle. Her eyes widened greatly, becoming expanding orbs of startled green.

Quickly, she changed the subject, going back to the one she had started on, the one she was still dying to know about, "Anyway, can either of you guys tell me about Sebastian?"

Magnus looked over at Simon once before realizing he was too caught up in his own thoughts, most likely thinking of ways he could kill Jace, and said, "Well, there's really not much I can tell you, except that he seems quite keen on finding you. And that he is devilishly handsome. Not as handsome as my Alec, of course, but still quite the looker. I believe he's in 11th grade, though, because Alec is the only one to have a class with him."

She hissed impatiently at the lack of information.

Then, Magnus added, "I don't think you should trust him, though, Clary. I don't personally know the boy, but he just gives off bad vibes to me. However, that could just be me."

It struck Clary that Magnus was the second one to say something about not trusting Sebastian. One thing that struck her, though, was that Magnus had already met him, no matter how briefly, and Jace had not. Seeing as Magnus was clearly a more reliable source, she took his word in mind, though didn't really register it. However, what Magnus said didn't also strike her in as a warning, but also as a hint to look more closely at Jace's own.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed uneventfully, Clary being unable to pry any more information from her friends, wringing their minds dry with questions. That is, however, until lunch. Upon arriving in the cafeteria, the first person Clary saw was Jace. At first, it struck Clary as odd that he would have the same lunch schedule, but soon realized some students from different grades had the same lunch times do to unique class schedules. Simon, for instance, was taking an advanced class in computer technology, but his lunch period was thankfully kept the same as the majority of the grade's.<p>

Then, Jace walked over to her lunch table where she sat with her friends and promptly sat down across from her. She didn't fail to notice Magnus' hungry stare, or Alec's, for that matter, though his was significantly toned down. She also didn't fail to notice Jace not failing to notice their wandering eyes. As she looked around, she saw Maia doing the same as well, though hers was far less interested, considering her previous meeting. Then there was the fact that Isabelle sat herself right down next to him with a dainty plop.

She felt her mouth involuntarily curve upward in a scowl, but was shaken from her unintentionally hateful reverie when a hand gripped her arm. She immediately turned to give them her attention and was greeted by Maia's excitedly frantic eyes.

"Clary," she hissed, "Look! Over there! That's Sebastian."

With surprising speed, Clary whipped her head around, searching for the boy Maia had been talking about. However, that was not before noticing that Jace had heard and had consequently tensed. From the corner of her eye, she could Jace looking for him as well and that was eventually what clued her in to where he was. When Jace spotted him, how Clary wasn't sure, considering she herself had been waiting for Maia's guidance to spot him. But, there he was, or so she assumed was him, standing with her back to the table she sat at, waiting for his turn to get food.

Even without being able to see his face Clary could tell he was good looking. Maybe it was the strong set to his shoulders and his toned muscles. Maybe it was his confident, almost arrogant stance. In any case, she easily came to the conclusion that Magnus had not been lieing when he spoke of the boy's appearance. So, when he turned around and looked straight into her eyes, she was significantly less shocked then she would have been. He was indeed good looking. He had dark, almost unnaturally so, hair, and equally dark eyes. He was fine boned and undeniably attractive when a white toothed grin lit up his face. Then, said boy, who Clary had been searching for all day, who Clary had been inquiring about to anybody willing to answer, finally, _finally_, made his way over to Clary.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so here's the new chapter! I feel awful because it has been wayyyy to long, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! :) Also, I have a few things to say...<strong>

**1. I realize Magnus is actually older than all of them, but I wanted him to be in the same grade as Clary. I thought about putting Alec in the same grade too until I realized Isabelle was already going to be in the same grade as Clary, so unless I wanted them to be twins, Alec would have to be in the grade above.**

**2. Okay guys! Big announcement here! XxClace4evrxX and I have been thinking of recreating the Mortal Instruments Awards that took place a while back, except we would be the "hosts", or whatever the appropriate term is. All credit goes to them, though, as I was just asked to help. So please spread the word! I'll keep you updated with news on developments :)**

**Otherwise, thanks for reading and please review. :) xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Clary watched as Sebastian made his way gracefully towards her table. The way he walked reminded her of a snake; slithering yet beautiful; dangerous yet enticing. The smile on his face was endearing to say the least and even though he had yet to speak, she recognized the charm everyone had been talking about.

When he finally reached her, he sat down on her left side. Now, she had Maia on her right and him on her left. Everyone at the table was looking at him with curious eyes, including Clary. She saw Jace and he exchanging charged glances and wondered how there could possibly be so much tension between two people who had never met. And then a thought struck Clary; what if they had already met? That would mean that perhaps Jace had been right about Sebastian, but she wanted to give him a chance, and considering the circumstances (a devilishly handsome male simply dying to meet her, something that was a brand new occurrence) she was perfectly willing to give the boy a chance.

Then, Sebastian turned to Clary, "Hey. You must be Clary."

She watched as his eyes raked her up and down, and she couldn't keep from blushing. What Magnus had said earlier that day rang throughout her mind, _"I can see where your curiosity would stem from, seeing as, other than your dear friend Simon, emphasis on friend, and your father, you've never had the attention of a straight male before."_

She cleared her throat, rather grossly she thought, and said, "Yes, I'm Clary. And you're Sebastian, right?"

He raised an eyebrow and replied smoothly, his voice moving melodically through her ears, "Oh, so you've heard about me?"

Clary blushed once more, realizing she had admitted to knowing about him. She wasn't too worried, though, considering he had already known about her as well.

However, she didn't want to give him the upper hand, so she responded with, "Well, I think it would be hard not to. After all, you've been looking for me, have you not?"

Sebastian released a throaty chuckle, and was just about to respond when Jace interrupted him, "Yes, and pray tell, why exactly that is?" He said it with such venom in his voice that Clary was shocked, even after hearing all his rude words from the previous two days.

Sebastian's gaze turned once more to Jace. His look was one of disapproval as he said, "And who are you?"

At this, Jace's eyebrows rose. He gave no answer.

After a prolonged silence, Sebastian spoke once more, "Well, no matter, I have no desire to know who you are. And I don't believe you're privy to that knowledge."

"Well, actually, I'm curious, too," Clary responded.

Jace raised his eyebrows as if challenging him to not tell her.

Sebastian turned fully to her and said, "I noticed a painting of your mothers, one she had done of you, for sale. It was dedicated to her precious daughter, Clary. The next step was simple, I looked at the artist's last name and there I had it. Clary Fray."

Clary smiled, glad for the reasonable answer. Her mother's artwork was sold in random stores throughout the city and she was also glad her mother's work was being recognized.

When Magnus spoke up, she realized the rest of the table had been silent for the duration of the entire conversation, "So, tell us about yourself, then."

It was no matter, though, for pleasant conversation filled the table as everyone laughed at Sebastian's funny stories and jokes. Everyone except Jace, that is.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day had passed, though pleasantly, uneventfully. During lunch she had found out that Sebastian had actually been born in New York, had moved with his father to London, England a few years ago, and was now back for good. She learned that his mother had left when he was merely a baby, reminding Clary of her own story.<p>

She also learned that he spoke fluent Latin, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. He said it was due to having been homeschooled his whole life. What surprised her even more, though, was that each time Sebastian said something in another language, Jace always managed to respond. Most of the time she guessed they were some sort of clever retorts.

Sitting in her bedroom as she was, rocking back and forth in her desk chair, her feet up on the desk, she let out a wistful sigh. She wanted to relive the moments she had spent with Sebastian, yet at the same time, she couldn't help remembering Jace's and Magnus' warnings. Though, now that Magnus knew him, he stated he was previously wrong. However, Clary had some doubts of her own. Something about him seemed off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

Her fingers ached to release their thoughts onto paper, so she grabbed her sketch pad and drawing pencils. The first thing she drew was Sebastian. She remembered how he had looked when he was talking to Jace in those other languages, the playful yet daring glint in his eye. However, another thing she remembered was how there had been no surprise shown on his face. Thinking about that now, she realized how strange that was, considering everyone else at the table's obvious shock.

She pushed it to the back of her mind, though, and continued her drawing. By the time she was done, she had a picture that she thought resembled Sebastian pretty closely. She was actually proud of what she had done, which was saying something considering her normal adversity to actually believing her work was good.

Then, because she felt she was on a roll, she decided to draw Jace. At first, at the beginning stages, it appeared to be coming along just as well as her drawing of Sebastian had, but when she began to draw his face, that gleam in his eyes that was always there, she was simply unable to get it just right. So, she decided to forget his face and move onto his body. She thought she got the basic shape down well enough, but when it came to the body language, that relaxed, cocky, strong stance he was always wearing, she was once again unable to copy it onto the paper.

She was trying once more to get his face right, when she felt a shadow fall across her. She glanced up and saw Jace. She quickly, with surprising speed, flipped her book closed. The fact that he had caught her drawing him was absolutely mortifying.

"You know, I've had a lot of admirers, but none so enamoured as to draw a picture of me. Though that was rather good."

"Don't be so flattered. I was only drawing you because I had already drawn everyone else," she lied, for not only had she not drawn everyone else, she was drawing Jace because it wasn't often an artist had a chance to draw something so beautiful. Not that she would ever admit these thoughts out loud.

"Oh yeah? Let's see them," he had caught her in her lie, had seen right through it.

She flipped to the right page, making sure not to let him see any and showed him Sebastian. His gaze wandered over it.

"Ugh. You would draw this bastard before me?" he questioned, disdain clear in his voice.

He grabbed it from her hands before she had a chance to stop him. He brought it closer to his face and peered at it.

"Good job though. You've got his ugly face down perfectly."

She snarled at him, "Give it back! You didn't even ask."

He raised a golden eyebrow and replied, "Would you have said yes?"

She frowned and admitted, "No."

"Exactly."

She sighed and said, "Well could you give it back please?"

He looked over to her, a challenge in his eyes, "No, I don't think so."

At that, she stood up and attempted to snatch it back from him, but each try was proven futile. Not only was he much taller than her, but he was also much quicker. Not to mention she had a burned foot, which due to all the walking she had done at school was very sore. Eventually she gave up and flopped onto her bed. When he grinned at her in glorious victory she felt the extremely childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. So she did. And for the second time, Clary heard a real laugh from Jace.

She watched as Jace flipped back another page. To a page that was not filled with any of her friends, or anyone for that matter, but instead a simple apple. Jace smirked when he had proof of Clary's lies, but Clary was too tired, and too content to really care. Despite the fact that she had been "fighting" with Jace, it hadn't really been fighting; it had been playful, as was the atmosphere when it was over.

For once, though, Jace didn't make a snappy comment, instead, he continued to look through her notepad.

When he was done looking at the last, or rather first, page, he looked at Clary and said with sincerity, "You're quite good you know."

She knew she really wasn't, at least not compared to her mother anyway, but she accepted the compliment with a grateful smile.

Jace sat down on the bed with her then, right next to her, so close that she could feel the tiny golden hair on his arms tickling the hair on her own freckled one.

He spoke softly, "I know you won't listen to me, but I still mean what I said about Sebastian."

She spoke daringly, though equally as soft, and in a joking matter, "Maybe you're just jealous."

He smiled gently, "Well, that may be part of it."

She was, to say the least, extremely surprised by his answer. She had been joking and had been expecting the same from Jace, and if not that, nothing that would have given more ammunition to the gun of jealousy. She was suddenly overcome with the urgency to kiss him, but she remembered that she had only known him for a mere three days. What was so strange, though, was the fact that not only had she only known him for a few days, but the fact that she knew barely anything about him, yet she still felt as though she had known him forever. Certainly for as long as she had known Izzy and Alec, maybe for as long as she had known Simon, and that was really saying something.

She thought maybe Jace felt the same way too, because she could swear he started to lean in, but the sketch book fell to the floor just then and knocked both of them out of their reveries. The bang sounded twice as loud in the anticipating silence, and they both jumped before laughing it off.

"So how did you like your first day of school?" Clary asked.

"It was fine, I suppose, if you subtract Sebastian from the equation," he replied before adding, "Not to mention it gets pretty tiring running from all your admirers."

Clary would have been annoyed with Jace for being so arrogant, except she was beginning to accept that there was no way around it, and on this occasion, he really was just joking. That much could be known from the genuine laughter in his eyes.

So, Clary played along, "You don't seem like the type to run from that sort of thing."

For the second time that night, Jace released a real laugh, causing Clary to giggle as well.

"Well, that much is generally true. None of them interested me, though," he said looking straight into her eyes.

She noticed that his eyes were unlike any she had ever seen before. Up this close, they were rather like molten gold, or perhaps amber. Again, she was struck by the urge to kiss him, but she resisted. Instead, she amused herself with the fact that she was fairly certain Jace had been saying that none of them interested him because she was the only one that did.

Then, her mother's voice rang through the hallways and into her room, "Clary, Jace, Luke and I are going to get some ice cream! Do you want to come?"

Clary raised her eyebrows, questioning. Jace, in return, shrugged his shoulders. So, she made the decision for him and shouted an affirmative back to her mother.

* * *

><p>The next few days passed in much the same manner. She went to school, talked to her friends, including Sebastian, came home, talked to Jace, and repeated. Sometimes when she talked to Jace they would argue about whatever little thing Jace felt the urge to argue about, but they were, as stated, little things. Her life was fairly normal, good even, back to how it had been before Jace, and now it was with Jace, which made it even better. That was, until Sebastian asked her a question.<p>

The two had been walking back from lunch to their lockers, slightly behind the others when Sebastian asked, "So, Clary, I was wondering if perhaps you would like to go on a date with me sometime?"

The first thing that came to Clary's mind was the night's she had been spending with Jace, but then she thought that nothing had happened during these times to make her unallowed to say yes. However, she still told him she would have to think about it.

So, first she asked Izzy about it because she was most knowledgeable, who had frantically exclaimed, "Clary you can't just pass up a fine piece of meat like that boy!"

Then, she asked Simon because not only was he her best friend, but she wanted a second opinion. She was extremely surprised when Simon not only told her no, she shouldn't say yes, but said it with such emotion. Perhaps it was anger, not that Clary understood why it would be.

Then, she asked Magnus, who reacted similarly to Isabelle. Finally, she asked Maia and Alec, who gave her the most honest answers. They told her that if she thought it would make her happy, then she should say yes. Clary didn't ask Jace, for even if he didn't like her like she thought he might, he still didn't trust him. Multiple times Clary had tried to get it out of him as to why, but, and she assumed because it would mean talking about his past, he refused to tell her.

So, she thought of the fact that she received only one no, and thought about whether it would make her happy, like Alec and Maia had said to do, and she realized it was at least worth a shot.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh wow... I have been gone for sooooo long, and I am soooooo sorry! I'm piling the chapters up so hopefully it won't happen again. Also, in the last chapter I said something about recreating the Mortal Instrument Awards and I would really appreciate it if you would let me know how you feel about that :) So, thanks for reading and review! xx<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The next day in school, Clary was extremely nervous. Not so much because she was going to tell Sebastian it was a yes, but mostly because she was afraid of Jace's reaction. After all the time he had spent telling her about how sure he was that she should avoid him, she was now going to go on a date with him, and she knew Jace would not be happy about that. Not, she thought, that he really had any say in the matter. However, the two had been on fairly good terms, and she knew this would, without a doubt, ruin the peace.

She wasn't sure when she was going to find the time to give him her answer considering the only time she ever got the chance to see him was at lunch, but she figured she could always trail behind the rest of the group with him again.

When it came time for lunch, she sat at her usual spot in between Maia and Sebastian, and she easily noticed the expectant looks everyone was giving her, waiting for her to give the answer, minus Jace, of course, who was completely oblivious. That's how it went for the rest of lunch, too. Then, lunch was over and Sebastian was pulling her back to trail behind once more.

"So have you decided yet?" he questioned, smiling at her with hope in his eyes.

She nodded slowly, chancing a glance at Jace once before saying, "I've decided I would love to go on a date with you, Sebastian."

His smile turned into a full-on beam. _'He seems so happy,' _Clary thought.

She was quick to return the smile. It had been a long time since someone had smiled at her with such genuine happiness because of something she had done. And it had never happened because she had agreed to go on a date with them.

"So, how about I pick you up tonight at six?" he questioned.

Clary thought about it, realized it was Friday and knew her parents wouldn't mind because of it, so she quickly nodded.

They had now reached Clary's locker, so he said, "Great! See ya tonight!"

"Yep," she said, "See ya tonight."

* * *

><p>When Clary and Jace got into Luke's car after school, she knew before any words were even said that Jace knew. She could tell because he had a fiery glint in his eyes, one that said what he wouldn't say in front of Luke. Or at least she thought it was what he wouldn't say.<p>

"So, Clary, I hear you have a date tonight," and he said it with such ice that she was sure even Luke could recognize his bitterness.

She saw Luke raise his eyebrows in the rearview mirror and heard as he said, "You have a date tonight, Clary?" the surprise evident in his voice.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, I have a date tonight why is that so surprising?" she questioned.

Luke gained a guilty look and stumbled over his words as he said, "Oh, uh, no, no, uh, no reason."

Once more, she rolled her eyes, "Well, yes, I have a date tonight. He'll be picking me up at six."

Luke kept his guilty appearance as he said with what was really too much enthusiasm, "Great! So what's his name?"

"Sebastian," she informed him.

Luke's eyebrows furrowed a bit as he said, "I don't remember having ever met any Sebastians."

Clary took it all in stride, though, looking at Jace quickly before saying, "No, he's new in school, but you can meet him tonight when he picks me up."

Her stepfather seemed unsure of this and turned his gaze to Jace, "What do you think of him, Jace?"

Clary knew that if she let Jace have his word, she would never be going on her date with Sebastian, so she said, "We all sit together at lunch. Everybody loves him."

She saw that Jace was about to protest, but thankfully they had reached their destination, so, she quickly said, "Trust me, you'll love him, too," knowing that her parents really would love his gentlemanly ways.

As soon as she got into the house, she went into her room, shut, and locked her door, knowing that Jace would be soon to follow. However, the state of the door couldn't deter Jace, and soon she heard a click as the lock was picked and Jace made his way inside. He shut the door once more after he entered.

Jace moved his mouth as though to speak, but Clary interrupted him, "Don't even start."

Jace let out a sound that had "Yeah right" written all over it.

"Clary, you are not going on that date with him."

"And why exactly not?" she demanded.

Jace sighed irritatedly, "Firstly, because you can do so much better than him. I mean what do you see in that... thing? Have you ever noticed how closely his face resembles a ferret?"

Clary interrupted him there, "No, firstly, that is the stupidest reason I've ever heard of and his face actually bears no resemblance to a ferret. Next thing you know you'll be mixing up chickens with cows."

One side of Jace's lips curled up in a snarl before he said, "Second reason; I don't trust him."

Clary snarled in return, "And since when do your opinions matter?"

Jace let out a sarcastic laugh as he said, "My opinions always matter. Not only because of my superiority to all other creatures but because they're always correct. That's why if I ever were to confuse a chicken with a cow, the names would immediately be switched. People would think they had been using the incorrect names their entire lives, that's how much my opinion matters."

"Well, I would still call them the same names."

"And you would be all alone while I would revel in the glory of admiration, not that I'm not used to that."

"Funny how you're talking about being alone when I'm the one with a date tonight," Clary spat.

Jace smirked and said, "I could have anyone I wanted."

Clary knew this was true, but she would never admit it to Jace, "Prove it."

Jace shook his head and pushed his hand into his pocket before pulling it back out with a massive wad of paper, "Alright, let's see. Who should I call? Lucy, Emily, Sarah?"

He threw the rest onto the bed and Clary scanned her eyes over them. She figured there must have been 15 phone numbers on her bed, all accompanied by either a heart or a winky face.

"And that's just from today," Jace spoke up.

Clary's lips curled again as she said, "Well I'm going tonight, and you can't stop me."

At that, Jace walked to the door, threw it open, and slammed it shut.

* * *

><p>It was about two hours later, at around five o'clock, that Clary began getting ready. She really had no idea what to wear, or even if she had anything suitable. She thought about calling Isabelle for help, realized she would probably make Clary wear something she would never be comfortable wearing, and decided against it.<p>

Unfortunately, Isabelle showed up anyway. She walked in Clary's bedroom door with a bag clearly filled with clothes in her hands. Clary's eyes widened comically at the sight.

"Okay," Isabelle said, "So, since you don't have any suitable clothes for, well anything really," Clary didn't take much offense to this because Isabelle's idea of suitable clothing consisted of clothes superstars would wear, "I've brought you some!"

Clary sighed, knowing there was no way Isabelle was going to let her get away with wearing her own clothes.

She spoke to Izzy reluctantly then said, "Alright let's see what you've got."

Isabelle jumped up and down quick, reminding Clary of a rabbit, and exclaimed, "Yay!"

Then, she continued, "Okay! So I have the perfect outfit for you!"

Clary wasn't sure she would agree, but impatiently said, "Just show the outfit to me, Iz."

And then, Isabelle began pulling out her supposed masterpiece. First she pulled out a pair of what would surely be ankle breaking, at least for Clary, shoes. They were white lace pump booties and looked like a torturing device in the form of fashionable footwear. Clary was already frightened. The next item Isabelle pulled out may have been even worse in Clary's opinion, for it was a very small, clearly very tight, strapless dress. It was pretty enough, Clary thought, but much too revealing for Clary. She knew it would leave nothing to the imagination, not that it was even worth imagining.

At this point, Clary knew she was doomed. There was no way Isabelle was going to let her get away with wearing anything else except for what she had chosen, so she let her keep going. The rest of the items Isabelle pulled out of her bag included a gold lace-style ring, a pair of gold earrings in a similar style, an off-white clutch with gold details, and a pair of fairly harmless nude tights.

When the entire outfit was removed, Isabelle glanced at Clary to see what she thought.

Then, she verbally asked what Clary thought, "So, what do you think?"

Clary shrugged her shoulders and said, figuring she might as well give getting out of it one shot, "Are you really sure it's practical, Iz? I mean we're just going on a date. Besides I'm pretty sure those heels should come with a warning attached. Maybe a disclaimer as well."

Isabelle gave her a look that said she clearly wasn't amused, "Clary, this is perfect! And there's no way you're going out on a date with any of the clothes you own on. Only the best will do tonight."

Clary's face turned into one that was usually accompanied by a whine, but she kept silent and picked up the clothes. She gave one last pathetic glance towards Isabelle, but her friend only used her hands to shoo her into the bathroom.

"And when you get out, I'll be doing your make-up!" she heard Izzy yell to her.

She let out a massive groan as she heard, and following directly after that she heard Isabelle laugh. Slowly, she slipped on every piece of clothing and jewelry that she had been instructed to put on. She was thankful, at this point, that she didn't have a full-length mirror in her bathroom because she wasn't sure she wanted to see the result.

However, she did have one in her bedroom and as soon as she stepped out, it pulled her towards itself. She distantly heard Isabelle say something, but she was too focused on herself. She was shocked, to say the least. The image in the mirror was certainly not Clary. The dress showed off her body so that it appeared as if she actually had curves and the heels gave her legs a toned definition that she normally lacked.

When she heard Isabelle say, "Now time for make-up," she cautiously made her way to where Isabelle was seated in front of her desk.

She pulled another chair over and prepared for Isabelle to begin. After quite a bit of poking, a fair amount of rubbing, and a good share of prodding, Isabelle was done.

"Alright, done!" she exclaimed, "What do you think?"

Clary once more went to the mirror. If she had thought she looked different before, the girl staring back at her was even further from reality. Izzy had performed a miracle. Clary, for once, actually thought she looked good. She turned herself so she was looking at different angles to make sure it was actually real.

She turned back to her miracle-working friend and said, "It's amazing, Iz."

Isabelle gave her a smug grin as she said, "I know."

Then, she quickly jumped up, looked at the clock sitting on Clary's bedside table, saw it read 5:45 and said, "Alright! Now let's go show everyone."

Together, they walked out of Clary's room and into the living room, where her parents were sitting watching TV.

When the two girls entered they looked up, and to Clary's slight annoyance, were absolutely shocked when they saw Clary.

Luke was the first one to speak and said with a smile, "You look beautiful, Clary."

Her mother nodded along with him and said, "You do look beautiful, baby."

Clary smiled at both of them, "Thanks guys."

They smiled at her in acknowledgement. Then, she excused herself to the bathroom, partly because she didn't want to talk about the upcoming night with her parents and partly because she really, really had to go.

She was in and out fairly quickly, looking at herself in the bathroom mirror once more before leaving. However, on her way out, she bumped in a sturdy chest. Before she even looked up, she knew it was Jace. She gulped for two reasons. One, she was worried about what he would say to her about the date, and two, as much as she wished it weren't so, she was worried about what he would think about her new look.

They both backed up, and Clary looked up, expecting to be staring at Jace straight in the eyes, but instead, his gaze was traveling up and down her body.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Okay, so, I'm uploading this right now because I don't know when I'll next have the chance because the power at my house (and mine is the only one in the neighborhood) is out, and I'm yet unaware of how quickly it will be fixed. Also, I'd like 10 reviews before the next update :P Thanks for reading :) xx<strong>


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